And Now That You've Met Me?
by cherrykiss3918
Summary: "Growing up, you were my favorite historical figure. I always dreamed about what it would be like to meet you." "And now that you've met me? Am I everything you expected?" She turned to him, his blue eyes staring into hers, and smiled. In PC; PP/OC EP/OC
1. Fights, Benches, and Narnia

*Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN THE CHRONICLES OF NARNIA I do, however, own my characters Lily and Serena. Speaking of them, I am trying my best to NOT make them Mary-Sues, if anyone thinks they are feel free to let me know!

This story takes place during the movie Prince Caspian (for about 3/4 of it) and I know some people don't like that, but that is simply the time frame I envisioned it taking place in. FYI I did re-write the first chapters a little bit (redoing a few scenes) so if you read the original ones I might suggest re-reading them if you wish to (I did add a few things that will come up later). But anywho, enjoy the story and review! :)

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The London train station was usually a calm place. The average person would be able to sit on a bench, drink his coffee and read the post whilst waiting for his train. The usual hustle and bustle of the train station would rarely bother a man such as this. However, this simple man could tell his serenity was about to be ruined when a particularly haughty looking boy and his friends bumped into a certain blonde waiting for his younger siblings.

The blonde boy turned around slowly, "yes?" An oddly authoritative tone entwining itself in his voice, "Is there something you want?" Although the boy had a somewhat muscular tone to him, he wasn't nearly as big as the boy he was arguing with, yet he didn't seem concerned.

"Yes, in fact," the larger fellow gave a quick head jerk to his buddies. There were 3 of them, none of which were as large as their leader, and each possessed a relatively unattractive feature.

"We'd enjoy it if you wouldn't stand in the middle of the walkway; some of us have to go places." One of the boy's scrappier friends made a sharp high pitched laugh as the blonde boy answered, "Well, you could always go around."

The boy made a hand gesture indicating the area around him, as if giving a step by step demonstration about where to walk. The larger boy went beet red, "I think," he started gesturing to his buddies, ignoring the blonde's comment, a hint of anger seeping through his words, "that you should apologize for blocking the way."

"Excuse me?"

"You heard me," the large boy was getting closer to the blonde as one of his buddies cracked his knuckles.

The simple man on the bench could tell things were going to get bad fast, so he picked up his coffee and newspaper, and speed walked away from the area. He was right too, because no sooner had he walked off the blonde boy, whose name was Peter, gave the larger boy, whose name is really of no importance, a large shove out of the way. This act, as they usually do, caused the group to become enraged and a fight to begin.

Now Peter's younger sister Lucy, who had been using the toilet during the whole thing, emerged from the bathroom to see her brother amongst a show of flailing limbs and bodies. These sorts of things were becoming a habit of Peter's, and Lucy getting right a tired of it. But Lucy, being Lucy, was terrified for her brother and ran off to find her older sister Susan.

A crowd had started forming around the group, many of were screaming "FIGHT, FIGHT, FIGHT!" Edmund, who had been in the bathroom as well, came out with no sister in sight and his brother in yet another fight. Well, being a former king, it was in Edmund's nature to aide his brother in all battles, even as simple as a street scuffle. So he pushed his way through the screaming crowd to go to join his brother, hearing his youngest sister call out his name as he flung himself into the spectacle.

Peter was being pushed against the floor whilst Edmund jumped onto one of the offenders' backs, right when a loud whistle caused everyone to find the fight a million times less interesting. A heavyset police officer with a green cap covering his bare head pulled the leader off of Peter, furiously yelling at the blonde boy to act his age. A few other police officers helped break up the fighting boys as the crowd hastily dispersed, leaving only 2 worried and annoyed queens, two bruised kings, and a bench.

* * *

The four Pevensie children moved their bags to a brown bench in the train station. Three of them were currently sitting on it, replaying the recent events in their heads. Edmund, who had just finished moving his luggage, plopped down next to Peter and angrily mumbled, "You're welcome."

Peter had not yet thanked his brother for helping him in his fight, not like her ever did. "I had it sorted," he spat back; not about to admit to anyone that he needed his younger brother's help; he could handle his own fights. Edmund's thin lips curved downward at his brother's remark. For once in his life he wished he would be more appreciated.

Peter stood up and walked a few feet, not looking at his family.

He had a rectangular face with an angular jaw and chin, a feature that, along with his blonde hair and blue eyes, had always made him seem more regal then his siblings. It almost seemed right that he would have the word "High" in his title.

He pursed his relatively large lips, lips that connected his facial features with Susan. He could tell what was coming next, and he really didn't want to have to deal with explaining himself to them again. Fighting had, unfortunately, become a popular thing for him. His mother would receive a phone call at least once a month about how he had punched a classmate or snapped at a teacher. It was bad enough having to explain himself to her, she didn't know anything about Narnia and thought something was actually wrong with her son. He was making her stressed, making them all stressed.

He looked out at the bare train tracks, wishing the train would just come. The craziness of boarding a train almost always took his siblings' minds off anything except not losing each other in the crowd. Peter looked blankly at these tracks as Susan whined, "Why did you do it this time?"

Peter sighed and turned around, "he bumped me."

"So you hit him?" the youngest exclaimed, figuring her brother would be more mature than that.

"No," Peter replied, "After he bumped, his group of arrogant friends tried to make _me_ apologize. That's when I hit him." He realized this wasn't much better as his siblings rolled their eyes, "Really is it that hard just to walk away?" Susan was finding it harder and harder to believe how immature her older brother was. Didn't he know that when someone wishes to initiate a fight with you, the best policy is always to not respond and simply ignore them?

"I shouldn't have too!" Peter cried, as if answering her internal question, "I mean, don't you ever just get sick and tired of being treated like a kid!"

"Uhm we are kids" Edmund reminded his brother.

"Well I wasn't always," Peter stood up a little straighter as he said this. He, like his siblings, had experienced something that he figured no children ever had. They had ruled the land of Narnia for years, and as a result, had become adults. (Only into their 20's, but still) However, one day when he and his siblings had been out hunting for the infamous White Stag, they came across a familiar lamppost. _A stupid lamppost_. As a result they were strangely drawn back into their own world, emerging from the wardrobe they had entered many years before. They returned, however, the same age they had been when they first entered Narnia. He was 16, Susan was 15, Edmund was 14, and Lucy was 12. Although his mind managed to turn back into that of a teenager's, he still held on to that bit of maturity he had as High King. Maturity that was both a blessing and a curse.

The children on the bench looked at each other, understanding how their brother felt, for they had felt the same way.

"A whole year has gone by," Peter continued, returning to his seat between Edmund and Susan. "How long do you think he'll keep us waiting?" Susan crossed her arms, "Peter you need to accept that we live here, it's no use pretending any different."

Peter shook his head in disagreement, but decided to not continue the conversation; they had had it so many times before. It had become like a broken record, the same words, the same tone, the same points that they tried to beat into his head. After a while he just tuned everything out, finding himself thinking about the very things they were trying to make him forget.

He ran his hand through his hair, slightly messing up his nice side bang in the process. He was a pretty well groomed boy. His hair reached just above his ears in length and luckily was able to keep itself from flying every which way. He had naturally curly hair however, so occasionally (like times when his heart-rate was elevated or it was a humid day) it would curl a bit around the edges. Needless to say, he managed to be a handsome young man.

He placed his hand back on his lap and began to space out, thinking about the holiday he would be having.

After returning home, he and his family were going to their neighbor (and close family friend's) country house for their two month holiday. The middle aged lady, who 's name was Elizabeth Harris but insisted that they call her Aunt Lizzie, had no children of her own and a recently late husband who left her a large country home, and instead of spending the holiday alone, she had invited the Pevensies to spend it with her.

She was a very nice woman (she loved Lucy, saying many times how she would be glad to adopt her if it ever need be), but Peter was often irritated by her involvement in his personal life, frequently suggesting he go on blind dates with random girls she just happened to know. He always turned these down, (he was never one for blind anything) but she hadn't given up yet. He figured that if he managed to get a girlfriend on his own this year she would stop harassing him, but he found that girls just weren't as interesting here. It was hard to love someone who would never be able to completely understand him.

During his thoughts Peter had managed to tune out some of his siblings' conversation, but tuned himself back in when Lucy randomly screeched "Ow!"

Susan looked at her sister, embarrassed by her sudden outburst, "quiet Lu."

"Something pinched me!" Peter was the next to feel the odd sensation, but he thought it was Edmund, "Hey stop it" "I'm not touching you!"

"Will you all just- what is that!" Susan exclaimed as she too felt the sensation. Edmund jumped up as well as Lucy happily said "It feels like magic!" As cheesy as this comment was it clicked something in Susan's brain that caused her to suggest that they all hold hands. Edmund refused to hold his brother's (like an annoying teenage brother would), but the weird wind that was starting and the anticipation of what was to come ended with him giving in.

The walls started to peel back as the train station, which was no longer a train station, began to fall apart and a bright light emerged in front of them. As their eyes adjusted, they saw that the light was indeed a beautiful beach that was now in front of them. They looked at each other with gigantic toothy smiles, they were in fact again in Narnia, and did not waste any time before enjoying it.

Meanwhile, close by in Narnia, a young girl was going for a stroll in the forest. She sang sweet tunes from her memory as she enjoyed the scenery. Despite the current circumstances of Narnia, this girl always had a way of making the earth smile with her, a feature she had to be secretly joyful of.

She pulled a loose strand of blonde hair from her face as she bent down too smell a rose bush. She had just cupped a flower in her hand and began lifting it to her nose, when she got a feeling. It was that twitchy feeling you get when you feel as though you've forgotten something. She searched her brain for something that she had forgotten, when the feeling changed. It changed to a feeling of longing, a longing to go to The Ruins. She wondered why on Earth she would long to go there, but knew it must be important. She sighed and released the flower, accepting that she would have to save her flower smelling for another day.

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**So there ya go, the first chapter! **

**So what do you think? Like it? Hate it? What did you like/hate? Tell me!:D  
**


	2. Memories, Curls, and Meetings

A/N I just wanted to say that the story line follows the events that take place in the movie Prince Caspian. Plus a few deleted scene possibly. However, the time line is going to be longer. For instance later on if events took place within a few days, here they may take place within a week or longer. Plus a few other changes. Anyways happy reading :) btw I DO NOT OWN THE CHRONICLES OF NARNIA I do however own my original characters.

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The sun was shining brightly over The Ruins of Cair Paravel. Beams of light were penetrating through the small holes within the tree leaves, causing scattered sprinklings of light to cover the forest floor. The young girl, named Lily, leapt onto each blotch of light, making sure she didn't land on any dark patches. The grass was soft between her currently bare feet as she made her way to The Ruins, continuing her game of a modified version of "Hot Lava" as she did so. The importance of where she was going hadn't occurred to her yet as she jumped from blotch to blotch.

She had just managed to balance herself on a small splash of light, standing on her right foot whilst holding her arms out to the sides, when the sound of a voice not too far away caused her to lose her balance and fall on the ground.

As she lay dumbly on the ground, she heard the voice again, time it sounding like it wasn't alone. _There's someone here_ she thought as she picked herself up and dashed through the trees, ignoring the fact she was running on lava.

Lily stopped as she neared The Ruins, keeping herself as hidden as possible, out of fear for being seen. She carefully slunk through a couple of trees when she heard the voice again, this time much more clearly, "Hey that's mine! From my chess set," the voice definitely came from a young boy.

"Which chess set?" Another, older sounding boy asked.

"Well I didn't exactly have a solid gold chest set in Finchely did I?"

Lily sunk to the ground fearful, yet extremely puzzled. _Finchely? _The girl asked herself, _what is "Finchely" and why is he calling something he found here his? _These thoughts swirled in her head as she positioned herself under a large bush. She cleared a few misplaced branches out of her face as she searched for the people behind the voices.

"It can't be?" Lily peeked through the bush as she saw a young girl of maybe 13 saying this, looking in a direction opposite of the three others around her. She ran in that direction and the others followed.

Lily pulled her body out from under the bush and knelt on the ground. _Who are they! They have no right to be here! _She thought angrily as she quickly, but quietly, moved through the bushes to get a better look at them, and more importantly, at what they were doing.

After parting her way through a series of shrubs and bushes she managed to get her eyes on them once again. She missed some of what they had said, but saw that all of them were standing in a line on a circular piece of Ruin.

The small girl said something about columns as she made gestures towards the other structures. There were four children, two boys and two girls. The tallest boy (who appeared to be the oldest) was the only blonde one of the group. The second boy, who was slightly shorter than the other, had dark brown hair. The older looking girl and the girl who was speaking both had light brown hair. It appeared that the dark haired boy was younger then the taller girl, but it didn't really matter to Lily at the time. The four of them all had a look of realization on their faces as the blonde boy said "Cair Paravel."

Lily looked at them quizzically _of course it is. These are The Ruins of Cair Paravel_, _surely all Telmarines are taught that. But they look, confused, and...that clothing…maybe they're not Telmarines, but then..._ Her thoughts were interrupted when she saw the dark haired boy looking her way. In a quick, quite ungraceful move, she darted out of the bushes and into the forest, but not before the young boy had caught sight of her blonde hair.

"Wait" Edmund said suddenly, taking the Pevensies out of their memories. "What?" His brother asked. "I saw something."

Peter and Susan glanced at each other, "what!"

"Uhm, I think it was hair. Yellow hair, to be exact." His voice got quieter when he said the last words, reevaluating what he saw in his head.

"Well did anyone else see this hair?" Peter asked his family members, a question that was replied to with quiet no's and shaking heads. "I think you might have been imagining it Ed," he laughed.

Edmund was getting a little annoyed with his brother. Peter always had a way of needing to know, be a head of, and determine everything that went on in their lives. At times it was extremely useful, but at others it just aggravated Edmund to no end.

"Whatever let's just keep exploring," and he walked off in the direction of the hair he knew he saw. The three other Pevensies looked at each other, knowing their brother could be moody at times. However, they shook it off and continued exploring around their old home.

Lily speed walked towards the forest, her head spinning. She could not believe what she had just seen! _Four non-Telmarine Telmaianes are here! What are they doing here! _Telmarines, or whatever the heck they were, never came to The Ruins. It was normally just Narnians wishing to see The Ruins of Cair Paravel, or wishing to teach the young ones a bit about their history. The idea of humans, or at least what looked like humans, coming here and not knowing where they were, was extremely odd.

She felt the blood rush out of her face as she remembered the younger boy looking in her direction. Her stomach did a nervous flip at the idea of being seen. Oh how she wished she was brave like her sister. If she had been, she would have let him see her and walked right up and talked to them. But the admonishing sense of fear kept her from looking back.

She had just started to break into a run when she heard a giant _CRACK_ coming from the Treasure Room. She stopped dead in her tracks, "Oh no" she said under her breath, "ohnoohnoohnoohnoohno!"

She did a quick pirouette movement as she turned around and started running towards the Treasure Room; she could not believe she was so stupid! Of course they would find it! She scolded herself as she ran towards the cracking noise, praying to Aslan that the intruders hadn't done any damage.

* * *

The four children had just entered their old Treasure Room. Peter had skillfully been able to open the old door and they were using Ed's torch for light. The four of them walked carefully down the stairs as their minds filled with memories of their rule.

While this was happening, unbeknown to the four children, young Lily was looking at them through a small window located near the top of the building.

As they pushed through the large irons gates, each of them looked at the chests, and the human statues behind, with a grand happiness. With Lucy leading, the four children ran to their chests and opened them. However, before doing so, Peter took a dusty old shield he found and looked solemnly at it. Looking at the image of Aslan gave him the sinking feeling that he would never be the High King of Narnia again. He ran his fingers along the molded shape, breathing in as he did so, as if confirming the fact that he was once again in his beloved Narnia. Yet, he felt both at home, yet extremely out of place. He tried his best to push both feelings aside, figuring it was simply a mix of excitement and all the dust around him.

He pulled himself away from the face as Lucy picked up one of her old dresses, "I was so tall!" She exclaimed, "Well you were older then." Susan laughed.

"As opposed to hundreds of years later," Edmund chimed in, sporting an old helmet of his that was too big, and frankly made him look ridiculous, "When you're younger."

All four of them shared a small giggle at their brother's remark. Peter blew some of the remaining dust off the shield and placed it back down as he looked towards his own statue. Looking at himself as he once was gave him the same feeling as before, never going back, but he refused to let himself believe it. He started walking towards his statue as Susan said, "My horn," she looked up at Lucy, "I must have left it on my saddle, the day we went back."

Another pang went through Peter, as the regrets he had so often thought about filled his head once again. He forced himself to shake them off as he noticed three boulders placed strategically on top of his chest. He smiled a little at the idea of someone trying to keep what was inside preserved. He took them off and opened his chest.

All eyes turned to Peter as he looked at all of his old weapons and armor sitting in the chest. However, his eyes went straight to Rhindon, his sword. He picked it up and held it in his hand as memories of great sword fights entered his mind. He unsheathed it and looked at the beauty of his sword once more. And this time was hit with another pang. This one, however, was not of sadness but a strange sort of happiness. He read the writing on the sword, "When Aslan bears his teeth Winter meets its death."

"When he shakes his mane, we shall have Spring again." Lucy interrupted, her face now solemn, and her eyes getting wetter with each word, "Everyone we knew Mr. Tumnus and The Beavers," She bit her lip and choked out the last part, "They're all gone."

Everyone was quiet. They looked at each other as they realized that they would never see their beloved friends again. "I think it's time we found out what's going on." Peter stated. Lucy nodded as they all searched through their chests for some appropriate Narnian clothing.

Lily was sitting outside watching them intently. She didn't know what to think. Were these four children really the kings and queens of old? Was it even possible? She knew she had to find out the truth before her sister came back, or no one ever would. She moved to a hole in the side of the wall just big enough for her face as she watched the children put on new clothing. _They're taking clothing! _She convinced herself;_ I can't let them leave now. _She moved her face further in the hole to get a better look.

* * *

Once they had finished getting dressed they went through their chests to get weapons and anything else they might need. Lucy was wearing a long sleeved red dress that split in the front to reveal a white under dress. The dress had a cream torso with a golden flower pattern. Around her waist she had a sash that contained her cordial and dagger. Peter was wearing a brown button up vest with gold stitching over a blue pirate-style long sleeve shirt, and brown pants. On his hip he had his sword attached and his shield on his back. Susan was in a long sleeve purple dress that had a corset torso with a golden design on it. Around one shoulder and across her back to her left side she had her quiver and bow. Edmund had on a blue long sleeve button up shirt that puffed out on the arms but became tight near the wrists, with hints of a light blue undershirt underneath. He had gray pants on, his shield on his back and a belt around his middle holding his sword.

As Edmund was looking through his chest he saw a yellow streak out of the corner of his eye. He looked up and saw a girl with blonde hair looking through a hole near the door. When she met his eyes she ran out of sight. Edmund realized that she must have been what he saw before, and not about to let her get away again, he raced up the stairs to catch her, leaving his chest wide open and his siblings utterly confused. They would have followed him right away except Susan refused to let them leave without tidying up their chests first.

Lily knew the boy had seen her then. She hid behind a bush as he came running through the broken door, a mischievous smile plastered on his face. 'I got you-" he yelled, but was cut off when he saw that no one was there. He swore under his breath as he looked around for where she might have gone.

Lily hid in the bushes (they were a favorite hiding spot of hers) unsure of what to do. The bushes closed around her, feeling her fear and trying to protect her. The boy didn't look mean, and she knew she would have to stop them eventually; they couldn't just walk off with what they had taken while she was there. Lily decided she would have to be brave. So she put on a serious face, took a deep breath, pushed the bushes away, and revealed herself to the boy.

Edmund was so sure; no he knew that he had seen a girl! He began darting around around trying to find her when he heard a rustling in the bushes to his right. He stopped and looked at them. Out of the foliage emerged a girl he had been so anxious to find.

She simply stood before him, staring. He thought the sight of her was sadly disappointing. He had been kind of hoping she would be some cool looking narnian, but she looked pretty normal to him. However, he couldn't quite put his finger on it, but she did remind him of something, something he had seen before.

Her hair was bright blonde and in curly ringlets that reached just below her shoulders. She was twirling one in her fingers as she looked at him. Her face was blank, but it was clear she was nervous. He mentally laughed at the idea of someone being afraid of him.

He extended his arm, "Hello, I'm Edmund, Edmund Pevensie." His British intonation seemed to calm her slightly, for she stopped twirling her hair. He could not seem to figure out her age. She was only a head shorter than him, but her eyes were large and gave her a younger appearance. It was not until she spoke, that he figured it out.

"What are you doing here?" Her voice was high, but not childish like Lucy's. It was clear, however, that it contained a hint of false maturity. It enclosed a tone of heightened pride, a tone that Edmund had found himself using on occasion. He figured all people his age did so.

He dropped his hand. "Well, to be honest-"

His statement would be left unfinished because he heard footsteps coming from the door. It flew open as Peter, Susan, and Lucy came into view.

The girl's eyes shifted towards the door. "Edmund what's going..." the youngest started until she caught sight of the girl.

Susan, who had emerged from the door way last, whispered to Edmund, "Who is that?"

"Well she's…um actually I didn't get her name." Edmund looked towards the girl expectantly. She didn't answer, however. She was far too busy staring at the children before her.

It was clear that they were related. The two girls and the boy she had just been speaking with all had brown hair, and although the taller boy was blonde he shared the same lips as the taller girl (only with less of a feminine pout), and they all had relatively the same nose. The group furthermore had an air to them, an air of comfort awarded only to family members. She reevaluated what the boy had just said. _His name is Edmund._

The Pevensies were whispering things to the boy that she could not hear as she voiced her new found question. "You're not King Edmund, are you?"

She felt her voice was faltering; she pushed to keep it level, but was failing miserably.

Edmund, who heard the waver in her voice responded, "Yepp. That's me."

"And I'm High King Peter, and those are Queens Susan and Lucy." The blonde boy added as he walked around his brother and offered his hand to the girl. "And you are?"

Peter's voice was full of a slight curiosity that was easily picked up on. Lily kept her face nonchalant save for a small polite smile as she replied, "Lily, my name is Lily."

"Well Miss Lily," Peter began as he lowered his arm casually after she did not take it. He added a bit of jolliness to his voice in an attempt to make himself seem less overbearing. "It's very nice to meet you."

Lily, heeding her sister's advice about never letting men charm you away from your subject, ignored him and added, ""You can't take those items you know" She motioned towards the weapons and clothing the Pevensies had removed from their chests.

"What do you mean?" Lucy asked, puzzled. "Well," Lily began, "Me and my sister guard these treasures. We have to protect them from intruders, and make sure they are safe."

"But they're ours!" Susan interrupted, very annoyed that this young girl would not let them take their own possessions. "Well, I have no proof that you are who you say you are, and besides…" she stopped as a voice from the distance called, "Lily! Where are you?" The Pevensies looked around trying to find where the voice came from, "Who was that?" Lucy asked.

Lily's eyes widened, "Oh that's just my sister." The Pevensies looked at each other, afraid this sister might not be so kind. Lucy decided to voice her inquiry, "Oh, is she nice?"

"Um Well..." Lily looked at her hands. It wasn't that her sister was mean, she just wasn't good at meeting new people, "she is once you get to know her!"

She smiled a little bit as the voice came closer, and its owner came into view. "Lily!"

She was about a foot taller than Lily, and was not quite as pale. She had a healthier looking figure, not as frail, and had an ever-so-slightly warmer blonde hair color; but her face undoubtedly read, sister. It read this, however, in more ways than one. Yes, the two shared the same nose and general facial structure, but it was the look upon the taller girls face as she saw her sibling standing with strangers that truly identified her as an older sister.

The new girl was walking, quite ungracefully, down the hill glaring at her sister, "where have you-" she stopped herself as her eyes flickered to the Pevensies standing before her, "Who are they?"

"Well they're…" "And why do they have those!" The older girl angrily whispered as she noticed what the Pevensies had on them.

"No you don't understand…"

"Lily why do they have those? You know that we have to protect them! Do you have any idea how ang-"

"They're the Kings and Queens of old!" Lily blurted interrupting her angry sister, looking a little disheveled from all the quick talking, but holding it together the best she could.

"What?" She said, lifting a light golden eyebrow.

"High King Peter" The oldest boy started, extending his hand, "and you are?" The girl turned to him, looked at his hand, then his face, and then back to her sister, "Who is this Lily?"

"Um…High King Peter. They're really the Kings and Queens of Old, just look at them." Lily gave a nod in their direction as her sister gave a disbelieving look.

Taking the advice, she walked up to the Pevensies, who throughout all of this had been giving each other strange looks as to try to piece together what they were witnessing.

She took a quick look at all of them, searching their faces for a resemblance to the kings and queens.

She lingered on the smallest girl. She looked about 12 and her body appeared to be on the verge of going through puberty, but wasn't quite there yet. Her face was long and rectangular and still carried traces of baby fat around the cheeks. Her nose was small but pudgy and her lips were relatively thin. It were her eyes, however, that jumped out at the girl, they were bright like Queen Lucy's. They were the eyes that engulfed all the innocence and happiness of Narnia.

"Are you quite done staring at my sister?" The girl turned away from Lucy and greeted the face of the boy who had introduces himself as High King Peter only a few moments before.

King Peter, she admitted, had always been her favorite historical figure. She had so often read stories about how incredibly brave and debonair he was. And this boy, who claimed to be that very High King, did not seem to possess any of those qualities.

She turned and walked towards the boy in question, hoping with all her heart he would not resemble who he claimed to be. "I simply need to identify you is all." She said sickeningly sweetly. Her voice was not as high as her sister's and contained a much stronger essence to it. "I need to make sure you really are who you say."

She stared at him, making sure to make her eyes as piercing as possible. She took in his face, his blonde hair and angular jaw, his broader yet still pudgy nose they all seemed to share, his large lips, and his eyes. Those same blue eyes she had seen in so many paintings.

She sighed, tearing her eyes away from Peter. "Well," she finally said, "you're a lot younger than I expected." The children rolled their eyes in a combined "Duh" but she didn't notice.

She walked back to her sister, cockiness now in her stature. She turned around to face them once again, looking at her hands and holding her body as if what she was about to say was more of a technicality than anything. "Look, I don't know why you're here or where you're going, but what I do know is that if you insist on bringing what you're wearing with you" she picked up the side of her knee-length white dress to emphasize clothing. "Then we're gonna have to go with you." She dropped her skirt and crossed her arms as she waited for an answer. Lily found herself rolling her eyes at her sister's bluntness. It never failed to amaze her how cool she could act, no matter who she was talking to.

The Pevensies stood there, slightly shocked and very confused, that these two girls they had just met insisted on joining them. Edmund expressed what they were all thinking. "Wait what?"

Lily took over, as it appeared her sister was on the verge of possibly stating an answer with so much sarcasm they would have no idea whether or not to believe her.

"Well, my sister and I, we watch over these ruins, and everything inside them. Please, don't ask why we just do." She added as Susan's face looked full of questions. "And it's kind of a rule that if someone takes anything out of here, especially out of the treasure room, that we have to follow them to make sure they don't hurt the artifacts. It's kinda stupid I know, but hey it's the rules?" She shrugged her small shoulders and let out a slight laugh to soften what she said. She figured they would accept them easier if she said it nicely.

The Pevensies looked at each other. They seemed to have a sort of sibling-telepathy as they nodded in agreement.

"Sure you can come! Besides we need a guide right?" Lucy was always one for making new friends, and never missed a chance to add a bit of glee into every situation. Peter laughed at his sister's joy and added, "Well I don't know about needing a guide," He said this in a way that the older girl's eyes to narrow. "But I guess you can come." Peter began as he walked towards the sisters, but his eyes were on Serena. "On one condition."

Serena met his gaze. Rolling her eyes at the obvious drama he was trying to add. "What?"

"I think you owe us your name?" He laughed a little, but obvious venom and sarcasm were seeping through his words. He looked into her eyes, waiting for a response. They were blue, but something was swimming in them, something that didn't quite seem…normal. Then it occurred to him, they looked human, but they were in Narnia, and humans weren't exactly the most common species in the Narnia he remembered.

He blinked as she responded, "Serena, that's my name."

"Nice to meet you Serena!" The small girl's cheerful remark brought Serena's eyes from Peter to small brunette girl addressing her, "You too."

Lucy's smile faded slightly from Serena's lack of enthusiasm as she and her siblings decided where to go next.

Lily turned to Serena and whispered angrily, "You could at least try to be nice." Serena looked at her sister, "I don't trust them yet, best not to let your guard down."

Lily began to roll her eyes when remembered something, "Serena, what if Louis comes home?"

"He'll find us," the older girl answered as they moved toward the Pevensies, "he always does."

Right as she said this the 6 children heard a muffled screech. "Where did that come from?" Susan asked bewildered.

"The river!" Serena answered as she started running down the rocks toward the river in question. "Hey wait up!" Peter yelled to her, he wasn't going to let some girl lead him. Susan ran after Peter, and Lucy ran after her, leaving Edmund and Lily trailing behind.

"Is your sister always like that?" Edmund asked.

"Only some of the time," Lily replied. "Are your siblings always like that?"

Edmund chuckled, "Only all the time."

Lily laughed as she heard the muffled scream again, and started running towards the river with Edmund right behind her. She knew exactly who it was.

* * *

**A/N So I know what your thinking. "Wow that chapter wasn't very well written..." Yeah ik haha but I am just trying to get through these beginning chapters. It will get better as it goes on, so don't let that derail you :)**

**So what do you think? Like it? Hate it? What did you like/hate? Tell me!:D**


	3. Turtles, Dwarves, and Fish Talking

***DISCLAIMER I once again do not own Chronicles of Narnia, I only own my original characters**

* * *

A small turtle was lounging in the sun. He quite enjoyed these Narnian sands and had no intention of leaving anytime soon. This intention, however, soon changed once he felt the ground start to shake. Now mind you, he was a small turtle so even the rumbling of 6 children running towards him was enough to disturb his peace.

He opened his eyes as he saw a group of people sprinting in his direction, fast. Having nowhere to go, and being far too slow to move fast enough, the poor turtle had no choice but to hide in his shell, not knowing whether or not he would survive the stampede.

He braced himself as he felt 6 people run by him, all screaming at one another to slow down. Someone's foot had kicked the poor thing so now he was on his back, the most frustrating position for any turtle to be in. He sat there, knowing his day would be ruined, when suddenly he felt a soft hand pick him up, and put him back on his feet. "There you go Mr. Turtle, sorry about that." The turtle looked up to see a young blonde headed girl hovering above him, one of her necklaces annoyingly touching his nose. "Lily come on!" The girl turned around at the sound of her name and started to move towards it. "See ya later Mister Turtle!" She yelled back as she ran out of sight.

Now the turtle, who was completely shocked at the events that had just happened, stood completely still for a few moments making sure no more people were coming his way. Once he was satisfied, he plopped back down on the ground, closed his eyes, and began to soak up the sun once again.

"Lily what were you doing?" Lily opened her mouth to answer Lucy, when she heard Susan yell "Drop him!" Lily looked out to the lake and sure enough, there was Trumpkin the dwarf tied up and about to be thrown into the lake by two Telmarine soldiers.

The two soldiers looked up and shrugged their shoulders in a combined "Ok" as they threw Trumpkin into the water. Susan scolded herself for saying the absolute wrong thing in this situation as Serena, Peter and Edmund leapt into the water.

Serena and Peter both swam to Trumpkin's aide, but Serena, being a much better swimmer than Peter, reached him first. However, when she ran into the boy on her way back, he latched on to the man too, determined to get some credit for this rescue. They both swam Trumpkin back to the surface as Edmund brought the now empty row boat onto the shore.

Peter and Serena dropped him on the ground as Lucy used her dagger to cut the grungy cloth that was in his mouth.

"Trumpkin!" Lily exclaimed, kneeling down next to the small man, "Are you all right?" Trumpkin ignored her as he spit water out of his mouth.

"Drop him!" he said angrily to the previously smiling Susan, "that's the best could come up with?"

Susan looked shocked at the man's lack of manners, "a simple 'Thank You' would suffice."

Trumpkin, still catching his breath, continued "They were doing fine drowning me without your help!"

"Maybe we should have let them." Trumpkin whipped his head around to acknowledge the new person speaking. The man furiously glared at Peter until he saw the girl who was standing next to him, her face timid and delicate.

"Lily?" He asked, unaware that she had already spoken to him, "What are you doing here?" The man's face softened as he looked at the young girl.

"I'm here with Serena" She motioned towards her sister; Trumpkin mentally slapped himself for not recognizing his rescuer. Serena rang her hair out and attempted to stop her wet dress from sticking to her body, which was luckily made of a white material that did not become see through when wet, as she acknowledged her sister's request, saying very simply, "They took stuff, we followed."

Trumpkin nodded, and opened his mouth to ask a question when Lucy interrupted, "Why were they trying to kill you anyway?" The dwarf flickered his eyes to the small girl as he started to take off the cloth that had been restricting him, "They're Telmarines," he said, annoyed at their lack of common sense, "that's what they do."

"Telmarines? In Narnia?" Edmund asked to really no one in particular.

"Where have you been for the last few hundred years?" Trumpkin answered gruffly as he shook the water off his clothes.

"It's kinda a long story" Lucy stated. Her hair, along with everyone else's, began floating around her head as a small wind started.

Trumpkin paused himself as he saw Susan return the all too familiar sword to Peter, (which he had thrown to her before jumping into the water) "Of course, they took stuff," he said in a sarcastic manner towards Serena who avoided his gaze.

"You've got to be kidding me!" The small man continued, "You're it? You're the kings and queens of old?" Peter outstretched a hand, "High King Peter, the Magnificent,"

Trumpkin gave him a look, and Serena rolled her eyes at his arrogance as she began counting her jewelry as to make sure she didn't lose any in the water. She could overhear Susan's slight laugh as she said, "You probably could have left off the last bit."

"Probably" Trumpkin chuckled. His long orange beard and hair were starting to dry as Peter replied, "You might be surprised."

He had a look on his face that invited a sword fight, "O you don't want to do that boy," Trumpkin warned. "Not me," Peter began, "Him." He looked to Edmund who unsheathed his sword and held it at the ready. He was always willing to show off his sword-fighting skills.

Since Trumpkin was weaponless, Peter handed him his own sword. The dwarf took it hesitantly and dropped his arms under the weight. Edmund looked at his siblings as if to say, "Look at this guy." Lily, however, saw the glitter in the dwarf's eye as he lifted the sword with no effort and flung it at the young boy, taking him by surprise.

Edmund lowered as Trumpkin flung the sword over the top of his head, and then proceeded to punch him in the face. Lucy let out a worried "Edmund!" as the man teased, "Oh are you alright?"

He lunged towards Edmund, who skillfully twirled out of the way and hit Trumpkin's butt with the end of his sword (causing Lucy and Lily to laugh). Trumpkin turned back to face Edmund, anger and embarrassment clearly written on his face. He then struck Edmund's sword with his own before Edmund flung his over Trumpkin's body, and Trumpkin flung his under Edmund's (causing the boy to jump).

The two continued to hit blades until Edmund hit Trumpkin's out of his hand and sent the small ginger to his knees. Edmund, sword pointed at Trumpkin, had a look of concentration and pride on his face as memories of sword fights flushed back into his memory.

"Beads and bed sticks," Trumpkin started, bewildered at what had just happened, "Maybe that horn worked after all." The Pevensie's looked at each other quizzically as Susan asked, "What horn?"

* * *

Trumpkin finished telling the Pevensie's about the horn, Caspian and about what had happened since they left. His story was relatively shot and to the point, leaving the Pevensies with questions that would have to go unanswered at the moment due to the urgency that they find Caspian. They decided that the only way they were going to find him, was to get across the river.

The group looked at the boat Edmund had brought ashore, not believing their luck. The boat was a little small, but they managed to squeeze everybody in. Trumpkin sat at the front, Susan and Lucy sat on one side of the bench crossing the middle, Serena and Peter sat on the other side, each rowing an ore, Lily sat on the bottom of the boat across from her sister, and Edmund sat at the back navigating.

10 minutes into the boat ride they were floating through a narrow river. It was in between two large white cliffs. The cliffs had a large amount of greenery growing and coming off of them, and on top rows and rows of beautiful green trees where growing. Trumpkin was looking ahead to make sure that they were going in the right direction, while Susan and Lucy took in their surroundings, remembering the land they had once ruled. Peter and Serena were now rowing in sync after being yelled at by Trumpkin for trying to out-row each other, which had caused the boat to bounce and rock very uncomfortably.

Lily had her hand in the glassy water, listening to the fish tell her stories. She always loved hearing the fish's tales of their lives underwater, there were even days that Lily wished she was a fish. They always seemed so carefree and joyful about life, care freeness and joy Lily wished she could obtain. However, the fish in this particular river were not as happy. They told her how their ecosystem was falling apart, and how the communication of the deep sea animals was not as good as it used to be.

They were about to give her more details when she heard someone calling her name, "Lily, Lily! What are you doing?" The speaker was laughing as the fair haired girl took her hand out of the water, remembering where she actually was.

She looked up dreamily towards the voice, "Hmm? What?" "You were like halfway in the water. Are you ok?" Edmund asked, seeing the glazed look of Lily's eyes.

Coming out of these water conversations so quickly was like waking up abruptly from a dream. Lily blinked a few times, coming back to her senses, "O yeah I'm fine," she smiled. Edmund opened his mouth to continue when Lily heard a grunt from behind her. She turned around to see her sister looking at her, giving her a look she had given so many times before. Serena didn't enjoy Lily doing anything odd in front of people they didn't know, and especially not in front of the people they were currently with.

She looked at her feet cursing herself for forgetting something so important. It was just that sometimes she couldn't help her connection with nature, it was just instinct. She looked apologetically at her sister and turned back around to answer Edmund's unspoken question, "I was just cooling down, it's getting hot out here." She pulled the edge of the neckline of her dress, which reached the middle of her shoulders and was similar in style and color of her sister's, to show her reaction to the temperature.

She smiled at him as he nodded his head in agreement. He didn't believe her, but he could tell it wasn't a good idea to dig any deeper. He was about to say, "Yeah I know," when his little sister randomly stated, "They're so still."

Everyone looked at the small girl who was gazing at the trees above her. Trumpkin followed her gaze and grimly said, "They're trees. Wadju expect?" Edmund and Susan looked sadly at him; his grim look at life upset them greatly. Peter, however, kept a straight face.

"They used to dance," Lucy continued, making her previous statement seem less stupid.

"It wasn't long after you left that the Telmarines invaded," Trumpkin continued as he looked up at the trees, forcing himself to recall such horrible events, "Those who survived retreated to the woods, and the trees," Trumpkin paused for a moment as he looked back at Lucy, "They retreated so deep into themselves that they haven't been heard from since."

Lily and Serena met each others' eyes, a sad type of feeling passing through their gazes.

"I don't understand." Lucy continued, "How could Aslan have let this happen?" The word "Aslan" caused everyone's attention to turn to the conversation at hand.

"Aslan?" Trumpkin scoffed, "I thought he abandoned us when you lot did." The brunette girl sadly looked down, and Peter ceased his rowing (Serena copied him) before looking over his shoulder and saying, "We didn't mean to leave you know."

"Doesn't make much difference now does it."

"Get us to the Narnians," He replied to Trumpkin, as he continued to row once again, "and it will."

Serena silently looked at the blonde boy next to her, still not rowing. She wondered how he could remain so calm through all of this. Narnia was destroyed and it didn't seem to bother him. It appeared that to him it was like completing an assignment, not helping his country.

Peter got the uncomfortable feeling that someone's eyes were on the back of his head, and he turned his head to meet Serena's face. He would have turned to look away, but something stopped him. It was the same swirling that he had noticed before. There something mysterious in her eyes confused and intrigued…and frightened Peter to no end. _Who is this girl? _He thought to himself, _and what is she?_

Serena found herself staring at Peter; trying to convince herself that this boy really was the High King Peter she had idolized so much. Sure he looked like him, but something about him just wasn't what she had expected.

They both just sat there, oddly looking at each other, before being brought out of their thoughts when Trumpkin yelled, "Why have we stopped moving!" Peter hadn't realized that he was not rowing and the boat had stopped all together. "Sorry" he mumbled as he looked away from Serena and began turning his ore once more.

After they had succeeded in restarting the boat, he once again eyed the blonde girl next to him. She had resumed her rowing, and was now looking in the other direction. _I'm going to figure out who they are, they're not going to stop me from fixing Narnia. _He thought to himself as he turned his head away, inadvertently meeting Edmund's eyes.

His brother gave him a look saying, "What was that?" Which Peter answered with a roll of his eyes as if stating, "It's nothing, don't worry about it."

The rest of the boat ride was relatively quiet (save for a few mini conversations about beautiful scenery or apologies for stepping on toes) and somehow from a mix of the silence and gentle rocking of the water, Lily fell asleep.

* * *

**A/N I'm getting more into the characters as the story goes on and I'm doing my best to make sure that my characters are not Mary-Sues (cause I hate them too). I hope your enjoying it! :)**

**So what do you think? Like it? Hate it? What did you like/hate? Tell me in your review! :D**


	4. Bears, Friendships, and Wrong Directions

***DISCLAIMER I DO NOT OWN CHRONICLES OF NARNIA! I do, however, own my original characters. I would just like to point out right away that in this chapter there is a little bit about boats and I just wanna say that I know nothing about boats or how to secure them or what not, so just bear with me on that part. So anyways, enjoy :)**

* * *

Lily was always the type to have very clear dreams, dreams that one would be able to recollect in perfect detail, down to specific faces and names. However, this dream was different. It was vague and blurry. The images were swirling so fast that she could barely distinguish one from another. The sounds she heard were meshed and inaudible, coming from all different directions and putting her head in a whirl.

To say that this particular dream was of great importance would be a lie, but to say that it didn't mean anything would be one as well.

The dream continued until it was interrupted by a thud. Lily's eyes flew open (an automatic movement that she much regretted) and were shut tightly once again due to the blinding light. She re-opened them, slower this time, as the blurry images she saw became clearer.

Once her eyes had adjusted enough she realized 3 things. One; that they were indeed on land, two; that everybody was exiting the boat, and three; that she was stupidly still lying on the floor of it. She looked up to see her sister giving her a playful annoyed look as she offered her hand, "come on, get up."

Lily took her sister's offer as she pulled herself to her feet, still squinting from the light. "What's going on?" She asked, covering her mouth as she yawned. Serena gave her a look that said, "Are you serious?"

She fixed Lily's hair (a few curls had escaped from their rightful places) as she said, "Wake up Lily, sleeping's for nighttime." With that she left her sister and went over to help Trumpkin pull the boat onto the sand.

Lily sighed, figuring that Serena was right. She began to exit the boat when, on top of being sluggish, she managed to miscalculate the depth of the water, causing herself to fall forwards. She covered her face, preparing herself for the impact, but it didn't come. She did hit something though, but it wasn't wet and cold, it was soft and warm.

"Whoa there, are you ok?" Edmund asked the girl who he had just skillfully saved from falling. Lily flinched a little bit when she realized that it was a person she had hit. She looked up at the boy, and saw that it was Edmund. She blushed at the idea of falling in front of a king, but managed to hide her embarrassment the best she could, "yeah I'm fine."

She tried to steady herself, managing to get upright, but then slipped again on a rock, only to be caught once again by Edmund. He laughed, "Haha what have you been drinking?'"

He helped her get onto the sand, one arm around her shoulders and the other steadying her. She looked sheepishly at him "I'm just tired." She didn't really want his help, but was glad that she got it. "Yeah I know; I never knew my leg was so comfortable." Edmund laughed and let go of her as they both got onto dry land.

Lily put her hand over her mouth, mentally slapping herself for falling asleep on the past King's leg, "O I'm so sorry I-" "No It's fine," Edmund interrupted as he shook excess water off his boots, "I mean I may be emotionally scarred but ya know, I'll get over it." Lily stopped straightening out her dress and looked at him horrified. "I'm only joking!" Edmund laughed. The girl's face softened as she smiled, "o, ya I knew that."

"Of course you did." Edmund joked as he went to help his brother with securing the boat. Lily giggled as she walked over to her sister, who was busy chatting with Susan.

"Where were you?" Peter asked when his brother suddenly appeared next to him. "Helping Lily out of the boat, she had just woken up and was kind of out of it." Edmund answered as he helped his brother.

Trumpkin, who was making sure the small boat was completely on dry land heard them say Lily's name, and started listening to the boys' conversation.

The two had been quiet for a few moments when Peter whispered, "I want you to keep an eye on her."

"What?" "I don't trust them, they don't seem..." he stopped and eyed Trumpkin, who quickly looked down and started moving around to look preoccupied, as he bent down a little closer to Edmund, "They don't seem normal."

Edmund looked at the ground, remembering the oddity of them being at The Ruins and suggesting to join them, as well as the other abnormal things he had observed them doing. To be honest he really hadn't thought much of any of it, they were in Narnia after all. He supposed that they did seem odd, but he didn't think they were dangerous.

He was about to question his brother again when he heard Lucy loudly say, "Hello there!" Everyone looked up at the girl and saw that she was speaking to a very large brown bear.

"It's alright." Lucy continued as the bear began to acknowledge her presence, "We're friends!"

The small brunette began walking towards the creature as it made loud grunting noises. "Don't move your majesty!" Lucy turned around to look at Trumpkin, confused by this warning, as the bear began to charge towards her. Peter grabbed Serena and Lily and pulled them behind the boat, causing Serena to yell at him to let her go.

Lucy ran back to her siblings as Susan pulled out her bow and yelled, "Stay away from her!"

As Lucy ran, she tripped and fell to the ground, the bear closing in on her. "Shoot Susan shoot!" Edmund yelled as he, his brother, and the two girls came out from their hiding spot; the situation becoming a little too dire to continue concealing themselves from.

"No wait!" Serena and Lily yelled as Susan held her bow at the ready. Serena tried to get passed, but Peter stuck out his arm and wouldn't let her by.

Lucy screamed as the bear roared and stood on his hind legs, ready to strike. When all of a sudden, the creature was shot with an arrow and fell to the ground. Lucy looked over her shoulder to see, not Susan, but Trumpkin holding a freshly shot cross bow.

"Why wouldn't he stop?" Susan asked, both happy and upset that she couldn't shoot it. "I suspect he was hungry," Trumpkin answered bluntly as he walked passed her towards the now dead bear.

The remaining five ran towards Lucy, who was still on the ground, shocked by what had just happened. Peter pulled the small girl up into his arms, while still holding a sword to the creature. Lily stared at the dead animal in horror, while Serena had a blank expression, but bits of irritation were coming through. Trumpkin went up to the bear and poked it, making sure it was dead.

"Thanks."

Trumpkin turned to Lucy and grunted his 'you're welcome.'

"He was wild" Edmund said, he was utterly confused by the non-domesticated nature of the animal before them. "

I don't think he could talk at all." Peter added remembering how all the animals in the Narnia he remembered could speak.

"You get treated like a dumb animal long enough," Trumpkin started, hoping this would open their eyes to the new state of things, "That's what you become."

The Pevensies looked sadly at him as he took out his knife. "You may find Narnia a more savage place then you remember." He cut into the animal to get his arrow back, causing Lucy to cringe and bury her face in Peter's chest.

Once Trumpkin had gotten his arrow, he suggested they get a move on and get to their destination. They agreed, and had gathered together to decide which way to go, when they realized that Lily and Serena weren't with them. They turned around to see the two sisters kneeling over the dead bear. Their eyes were closed and they had their hands on the creature. Their mouths were moving, but no audible words were coming out.

The children looked at each other in confusion, but Trumpkin understood what they were doing and mumbled, "Just give them a minute." He should have known better before killing that bear in front of them.

"What are they doing?" Susan asked. More to herself than anyone else, but still looked to the other's for an answer.

"You see," Trumpkin started, causing the Pevensies to turn their attention to him. "Where they're from..." He was making sure to word it right, this had been an excuse he had rehearsed before, but he was still not great at it, "it isn't...preferred to kill animals for any reason…and they have to pray for anything that is killed…."

Everyone accepted this excuse, everyone except Peter.

After a few moments, the sisters opened their eyes, removed their hands from the bear, and found themselves greeted by 4 staring eyes.

"What? We care about wildlife, why is that so weird?" Serena said, annoyed at their stares.

They all looked down at their feet embarrassed for a second, before continuing their mini journey. They needed to find Caspian, and Trumpkin had stated last seeing him at the Shuddering Woods, so Peter, being Peter, decided to lead the way.

Serena noticed him going in the wrong direction, but decided not to speak up about it, hoping to see the young "king" humiliated when he got lost.

Trumpkin on the other hand, pointed this out to Peter, but was only ignored, and to be honest, he wasn't exactly in the mood for a fight with the old High King

As they started following Peter, Edmund decided to find out more about what he had just witnessed, and get a firsthand account.

"Hey Lily," he said tapping the girl in front of him on the shoulder, his finger grazing one of her soft necklaces as he did so.

She turned around, "Yes?" "What were you doing, with the bear I mean?"

Lily slowed her walking so that she would be next to Edmund. "Well," She began, actually feeling the strange need to decide whether or not she should lie to him, "you see, where my sister and I come from, all living things, good and bad, are important. And… we believe that all creatures' lives are important, so whenever we see something killed, we must pray for it-"

"But what about that Telmarine soldier? He got killed." Edmund interrupted, remembering the man Susan had skillfully shot. "The other one took the body, we weren't about to jump into the water and pray for him with the other one right there. We may be religious, but were not stupid." She said this a little too quickly, but added in a small laugh to cover it up.

"O, that makes sense," Edmund started, "and, if you don't mind my asking, where are you from? I mean like, where is it that you practice this?" Edmund changed his question, making sure it didn't seem like he was prying.

"Um well it's not really from a place exactly, it's just something we've always been taught." "And who taught you this?"

Lily looked at Edmund, he seemed so trustworthy and nice, but then she eyed her sister.

"My mother," She lied, "from my mother." "O? And where is she?" Edmund looked down at Lily and instantly regretted asking this.

"She's no longer with us." Lily responded, looking at her feet.

Edmund looked at her sadly then looked away and mumbled, "I'm sorry." He was never good with consoling people, "how'd she die?"

"Of a broken heart." Lily answered still looking at the ground, her lower lip underneath her upper teeth. She answered a little too quickly again, but that was honestly just to get the conversation over with. Since, even if you say 'I don't want to talk about it,' the other party will always find out eventually, and sometimes it's easier to just flat out answer them then to have to go through all that.

Edmund turned to her, now this was an answer that intrigued him. He had never heard of anyone actually dying of a broken heart before. He considered that she was lying, but the look on her face said otherwise. However, he still had to ask, "What do you mean 'died of a broken….never mind." He trailed off and stopped himself when Lily looked up at him, she clearly didn't want to talk about it anymore. Edmund scolded himself for never saying the right thing.

They stayed silent for a few minutes, periodically stepping over rocks or dodging branches. Lily couldn't stand the quiet, "So what was it like to rule Narnia?"

Edmund was taken off guard by this question, "Wait so you believe us?" Lily gave him a look, "Should I not?"

"No it's just, your sister," Edmund motioned to the blonde girl ahead of them. "My sister has a hard time trusting people, you get used to it." Edmund nodded and answered her question, "Well anyways, ruling Narnia…"

* * *

Edmund told Lily all about his life as King of Narnia; however, he managed to strategically leave out anything that happened before their coronation. And somehow, during his stories, the two became fast friends.

Edmund was currently telling a funny story about Susan, when a familiar voice called out, "Lily can I ask your opinion on something?"

"That's my cue," Lily sang to Edmund as she ran to answer her sister's call.

"What is it?"

"Do you recognize this as a way to the Shuddering Woods?" Lily looked around the unfamiliar wood, she hadn't even realized where they had been going, "Uh, no."

"You see?" Serena said smugly, looking at an irritated Peter. His arms were crossed and he looked as though he would murder the girl in front of him if she said anything else. "We're going the wrong direction!"

He glared at her.

Lily decided she didn't want to get involved in the obvious fight at hand, and managed to sneak her way back to Edmund. She passed Susan as she said, "You know, I actually don't remember this way either."

Peter turned his head and joked to his sister, "That's the problem with girls," he eyed an annoyed Serena, emphasizing the word 'girls' as he did so, (winning him an eye-roll) "They can't carry a map in their heads." Serena scoffed at his comment as Lucy said, "That's 'cause our heads have something in them." Susan and Lily laughed. (At this point Edmund and Lily had stopped their conversation and were now listening to their bickering siblings, plus Trumpkin).

"I wish he'd just listened to the DLF in the first place." Susan said to Lucy. Edmund, who was standing on a rock just above, overheard them and asked, "DLF?" His sisters looked at each other and giggled, "Dear Little Friend."

The DLF stopped walking and sarcastically said, "That's not at all patronizing is it?" Edmund and Lily laughed, "Aw Trumpkin," Lily said stepping down and putting her arm around the small ginger, "you'll always be my DLF."

Trumpkin rolled his eyes and playfully pushed the girl's arm off his shoulder. Lily laughed as Lucy turned around and asked her, "Hey how do you and Trumpkin know each other?"

Lily, Trumpkin and Serena stopped walking and looked at each other. Lily looked up to her sister who had wide eyes that said, "Be careful!" Everyone stopped and looked at the girl. The four Pevensies were all very interested in finding this out.

Lily searched her brain for an appropriate answer, "You could call him… a family friend." Lily smiled, praying they'd accept this.

"Yepp," Trumpkin chimed in, confirming her statement, "I am a close family friend. I knew them when they were just little babies." He lowered his hand towards the ground, indicating their size. Serena stared him down after this comment.

Trumpkin caught her glare and added once again sounding grumpy, "Now, even though these connections are truly fascinating, if you don't mind, I think we should continue trying to find Caspian don't you?"

"Then let's get a move on it." Everyone whipped their heads around to look at Peter, who was standing on top of a slight hill. The look on the boys face clearly read that he wouldn't be content until he proved that he was going the right way. Serena and Trumpkin looked at him, never being so thankful for this in their lives.

Lily left Trumpkin's side and returned to Edmund's, asking him to continue his story. Trumpkin and Serena decided that it would be best to stop arguing with Peter for now, as everyone began following the blonde boy again.

It had only been a few minutes when Peter walked into an open rocky area. He didn't quite recognize it, but he was determined to know where he was going, "I'm not lost."

He said this more to himself, but he received a "yeah right" from Serena and a more direct, "No, you're just going the wrong way" from Trumpkin. (Not arguing didn't exactly work out) Peter turned around and glared at the dwarf. "You last saw Caspian at the Shuddering Woods, and the quickest way there is to cross at the River Rush."

Trumpkin rolled his eyes, "Well unless I'm mistaken there's no crossing in the parts."

Peter stepped towards him and stated, "That explains it then, you're mistaken." The two glared at each other before Peter continued walking his way.

About 10 minutes later the group, led by Peter, was walking down a steep hill to where they thought the River Rush was. In all actuality, the river in question was still there, it was only about 30 feet further down then they had expected. Susan pointed out that it was due to erosion, awarding her an irritated "shut up" from Peter.

"Well," Lily started, looking down at the river below her, "It has been quite some time you know."

"Is there a way down?" Edmund asked Trumpkin, hoping the man would know of some secret way to get across, "yeah, fallin'."

"Well we weren't lost..." Peter said defensively, although it was clear that he knew this statement was only technically true.

"Well it doesn't exactly help us now does it?" Serena added walking in between her sister and Peter. The boy glared at her once again as Trumpkin suggested another way to get there, this one however, involved swimming (which Susan pointed out was better than walking). They started to follow Trumpkin when they heard Lucy cry out, "Aslan? It's Aslan over there!"

The group turned around to see the excited girl pointing at something across the gorge. "Don't you see he's right…there" The others looked to where the Lucy had been pointing and saw nothing. "Do you see him now?" Trumpkin was getting very annoyed of all the interruptions.

"I'm not crazy," Lucy stated, defending what she saw, "He was there; he wanted us to follow him."

Peter looked at his sister and tried to let her down gently, "I'm sure there are many lions in this wood, just like that bear." "I think I know Aslan when I see him!" Lucy angrily replied.

"Look," Trumpkin started, he was getting very annoyed with these children, "I'm not about to jump off a cliff after someone who doesn't exist."

"The last time I didn't believe Lucy," Edmund began, drawing everyone's attention to him. He hoped his point would mean something to them, "I ended up looking pretty stupid." Lily looked at him, realizing that he had conveniently left out that part of his story. He met her eyes then looked away towards his little sister who was giving him a grateful look.

She then looked back at her older brother as he asked, "Why wouldn't I have seen him?"

"Maybe you weren't looking." Peter thought about his sister's response, once again getting the same feeling he got in the Treasure Room. He didn't want to believe it, "I'm sorry Lu."

He turned away from Lucy and started to follow Trumpkin, who had already begun to leave the site. Lucy glanced back across the river, hoping she would see Aslan again, with no luck. She turned back around to see Edmund giving her a thoughtful look and tipping his head telling her to come on.

They left Lily and Serena standing near the ledge. Serena was staring intensely at the place across the river, her face expressionless.

"So Aslan is real. You see, Louis was right!" Lily smiled at her sister, as she walked up next to her. Her smile disappeared, however, as Serena spoke, "Just because some little girl says she saw something, doesn't mean it was Aslan."

Lily made a noticeable following of her sister's gaze, "Then why are you acting like you believe her?"

Serena moved her eyes to look down at her sister; she hated how easily she could read her.

"Why is it so hard for you to admit that he might be right about something?" Lily asked Serena, annoyed at her sister's constant denial.

Serena laughed and turned away from the place she had been looking, "Because, I don't admit things that aren't true."

Lily was about to object when she noticed that their group was almost out of sight. Serena had apparently noticed this too, because she grabbed her sister's hand and began to speed walk to catch up with them. As she did so she muttered, "Come on, we have to make sure they're going the right way."

* * *

**A/N Yay I'm finally done with this chapter! These beginning chapters are the hardest to write because I have the middle so planned out in my mind that these beginning chapters seem so tedious. P.S. I'm trying to keep the characters in character the best i can! BTW school is starting soon so I will probably not be able to update as frequently, but I will try my absolute best! **

**So what do you think? Like it? Hate it? What did you like/hate? Tell me!:D**


	5. Camp Sites, Betting, and Berries

***DISCLAIMER I (once again) DO NOT OWN THE CHRONICLES OF NARNIA. I only own my original characters. Finally I have this chapter up! I've been trying to figure out how to write this for a while now. There are parts of it that could have come out wayyy to cheesy, so I needed to make sure they didn't (I hope i did ok!) Just a warning, I think I used the words chop and shoulder a little to much in this chapter...sorry in advance! Anyways, enjoy the chapter! :)**

* * *

*CHOP, CHOP, CHOP* Dave, the Telmarine soldier, was chopping up wood at an even and steady pace. His axe felt so right in his hands that he swore it was molded to the shape of his fingers. He chopped again, splitting his final log in half, after which he stretched backwards and took in a deep breath as he admired his work again.

"Hey You!" Dave turned his head at the call directed at him, "I see you think you're done! Well you're not! Come here and get more trees!" Dave sighed as he answered his leader's demand. Although he loved to chop wood, being told to do anything takes the fun out of it.

He put his axe on the ground, ready to get a new batch, when he saw something. Out of the corner of his eye he could have sworn that he saw people behind a pile of logs. He would have done a double take, if someone hadn't shouted, "Look it's Lord Miraz!"

The fact that Lord Miraz, the very instigator of all their work, was here, caused him to forget all about what he had seen for the moment. The man had arrived on a giant horse, and was accompanied by a few important people Dave didn't really know.

He stared in awe at the slightly bearded man as he heard, "Dave come on!" He dropped his gaze and sighed; smiling at the fact his boss had actually learned his name. As he turned to answer him, he glanced at the pile of logs one last time. This time he didn't see anyone. He was content with this, figuring that they had just been a figure of his imagination. He placed his axe on the ground, stretched out his arms, and replied, "I'm coming I'm coming!"

But truthfully, Dave had seen people, seven people to be exact. For Peter, Edmund, Lucy, Susan, Serena, Lily, and Trumpkin had all managed to run into the gigantic Telmarine camp on their way to find Caspian. They were lined up against a big pile of bare trees, trying desperately to figure out what was going on. The sight of a man on a giant horse caused Serena, Lily, and Trumpkin to pull everyone out of sight.

"Who is that?" Peter inquired, figuring he must be important.

"That's Miraz," Serena whispered, putting her feet underneath her in order to get more comfortable. "He's Caspian's uncle and pretty much the head guy of the Telmarines right now." She peeked out over the logs to get a better look.

Susan scooted herself near Peter, "perhaps this wasn't the best way to come after all." Peter silently agreed as they all looked over the logs again, wondering what on earth the Telmarines were doing. Yes, it looked as though they were building a giant bridge over a river; they just had no idea why.

Peter decided it wasn't worth anyone to just stay there, so he got up and began walking back in the direction they came. Trumpkin followed him, and was joined by everyone else.

I wish it could be said that some important conversations happened during this time, but they didn't. Everyone stayed relatively quiet actually.

They finally returned to the area they had left about an hour ago, and all stood in silence, wondering what would happen next. Most of them, however, figured it would have something to do with where Lucy had seen Aslan.

Lucy looked out in a sad anger towards the spot she had seen Him, wishing that they would just believe her. No matter what happened, simply because she was the youngest and the smallest, nothing she ever said was right.

Peter new Lucy well enough to know she couldn't have been completely insane, and they had no other options, so he asked, "Where exactly do you think you saw Aslan?" He realized the slight rudeness in how he worded this as Lucy turned around and spat, "I wish you'd all stop trying to sound like grownups."

She wished they would just understand that although they may have been grownups at one point in time, and probably still had an urge to act like them now, they just weren't. Didn't they realize that it was their need to act grown-up that almost didn't get them into Narnia in the first place? "I don't think I saw him I did see him."

Being too angry to realize that she hadn't thought of Trumpkin during all this, the small man added, "I am a grown-up," causing Edmund and Lily giggled.

Lucy walked along the edge of the cliff, trying to remember exactly where she had seen Aslan. She didn't, however, realize that the edge of the cliff wasn't exactly the safest place to be standing. She found this out the hard way, when right in the middle of saying, "It was right over-" she screamed and fell because the area she had been standing was only composed of dirt and roots. Her family erupted in worried cries of "Lucy!" as they all scrambled towards the cliff to make sure she was okay.

They looked over the edge and, sure enough, there was Lucy, perfectly fine. Everyone let out a sigh of relief.

"Here," she finished, laughing a bit from the shock. She was standing on a flat area that had been right underneath them. They looked down at the river below and realized that they could easily walk down the cliff and cross it.

They made their way carefully down a slanted area of rock, and held onto the side of the cliff for support. Once they got to the river they noticed that in the thinnest and shallowest area, there was a line of rocks leading from their side to the other. The children, once again, could not believe their luck as they began to walk across. Lucy led the way, followed by Trumpkin, Susan, Edmund, Lily, Serena and Peter.

The rocks were slippery (due to their placement in the water) causing Lucy slip a little. She was steadied, thankfully, by Trumpkin. She smiled in thanks to the dwarf as she continued her way across. Susan and Edmund managed to balance their way through, while Lily seemed to glide over the rocks like it was nothing. Serena attempted to glide, but ended up stumbling a little on the same rock Lucy had. As she wobbled, she felt two hands attach themselves to her shoulders, keeping her from falling. The owner of the hands laughed, "Are you ok?" Serena steadied herself and removed Peter's hands from her shoulders as she angrily answered, "I'm fine." Once the two had crossed, the group began their climb up the cliff and back to the solid ground.

After about an hour of walking, the group decided it was a good idea to set up camp for the night. (It was only about 4:00 but they just wanted to be safe).

They found a nice open area in the middle of the woods, and began to set up said camp. Susan, being the organizer she was, decided to give everyone jobs to do.

"Ok, now everyone listen to m- listen!" She screamed to Peter and Serena who were arguing about where the campfire should be placed. They stopped after her cry and listened intently.

"Thank you, ok now what do we need?" The children were quiet; they actually had no real idea about what to do in this situation.

"We need firewood and food," Trumpkin said gruffly as he placed his cross bow against a tree. Susan turned to him, nodding her head in agreement. "Ok so who wants to get firewood?" Lily shot her hand up in the air and shook it around indicating her desire to do it. Edmund laughed and said, "I'm with the crazy hand girl." Lily smiled brightly as Susan agreed and internally checked them off her list.

"Ok, so now who wants to get food?"

"I will!"

Serena and Peter glared at each other for saying the same thing. They were becoming much more infuriated by each other by the second.

"I'll get it." Peter stated to Susan, "No I will." Serena copied pushing him out of the way.

"How about you both get it!" The two looked towards the small brunette who said this. Lucy smiled not understanding why anyone hadn't thought of it sooner.

"I don't think-" Serena started, but was cut off when Susan graciously accepted Lucy's idea, mentally checking off that they would get food. She also hoped that maybe this would somehow help them get along.

Susan decided that she, Lucy, and Trumpkin would stay at the camp site and set everything up, as everyone else went on their way.

Lily and Edmund walked through the forest, periodically picking up dry sticks as they did so. The forest floor was dry, yet some branches managed to be damp, causing an uneven path of unacceptable foliage to trail behind them.

Edmund was bending down to pick up some wood as he noticed Lily staring at a brnahc she was holding. "You know if it's not telling you the future," he laughed, as Lily tore herself away look at him, not meaning to look so entranced by the stick. "It's not really worth gawking at."

Lily laughed and dropped the branch. "Sorry I was just spacing."

Edmund found this an acceptable excuse, but could not help but notice her glance back at the branch she dropped for a quick second, before picking up another.

* * *

Peter and Serena made their way through the forest, neither one speaking. All that could be heard were the quiet sounds of wild animals and the crunching of their feet. Peter couldn't stand the silence, "So what exactly are we looking for?"

"Food." Serena answered bluntly.

Peter rolled his eyes, but attempted to overlook it, he was tired of the fighting. "Yes I know that," he laughed, "but like what type of food should we be looking for?"

Serena stopped, causing Peter, who had kept on walking, to have to back up. "Well I would suggest fruit, like a berry bush; unless you want to kill a squirrel or something." She raised a golden eyebrow to Peter, wondering how he would respond. However, to her slight disappointment, he simply sighed and agreed that they look for a berry bush.

* * *

Edmund and Lily had decided to take a break from collecting and had currently found themselves sitting on a very large flat rock. They both had a pile of firewood in front of them that they were not looking forward to having to trudge back to camp.

Each was trying to think of any conversation they could in order to delay returning, and had just finished an incredibly interesting one about their favorite typs of trees, when Lily thought of a better topic. "I wonder if we've gotten any food yet."

Edmund laughed, imagining Peter and Serena fighting so much that they forget about everything. "I doubt it. The idea of them actually being able to do anything productive would be pretty amazing."

Lily smiled, visualizing her sister fighting with Peter. "Nah, I'm sure they'll be able to figure something out."

"What makes you say that?" Edmund asked as he changed the position of his leg for comfort reasons.

"Cause', I know my sister!" Lily sang, laughing as she did so. "Well I know my brother!" Edmund sang, mocking the way she had. They both laughed at his musical attempt as he added, speaking this time, "but seriously we're gonna starve tonight."

Lily's lips curved up a bit before she let her face go blank. She looked up at the sky. "Do you really think they're gonna hate each other forever?" She didn't really ask this as a question. Edmund looked at her, "What do you mean?"

Lily still looked at the sky, trying to find shapes in the warm colored clouds. "Haven't you ever read those stories where the two main characters start off hating each other, but then fall in love in the end?" Edmund lowered his eyes, piecing together what she was saying. "Wait, you think that Serena, your sister, and Peter, my brother, are going to fall in love?" He didn't even consider this as a possibility.

Lily turned her face back to him and nodded.

"Are you insane?" Edmund said so bluntly that it made her laugh. "No I just think that they will." "That's crazy." "No it's not!"

"I think you read too many fairy tales as a child." Edmund joked, running his fingers through his dark hair, before turning back to Lily who had resumed looking at the sky. Her head was angled in such a way that caused her hair to fall delicately around her face. From the side, Edmund noticed, her lips stood out in a pouty way and her eyes looked big and blue. As he looked at her profile, pictures of dolls passed through his mind. It occurred to him like a slap in the face that what she reminded him of were the porcelain dolls her neighbor Elizabeth Harris collected. The ones with the curly blonde hair, pale skin, red lips, and blue eyes. He established that she didn't just resemble one, she looked exactly like one! His conversation with Peter flashed in is his mind. _They don't seem quite normal._ But before he could continue his thoughts she turned her head to face him, causing him to blush slightly and look away.

"Yeah, this coming from the boy who happened upon a magical land, won a battle, and became king at the age of like 10. Don't go around saying bad things about fairytales!" She scolded playfully, as she placed some curls behind her ear.

"14, actually," Edmund corrected her.

Lily rolled her eyes and returning to her previous idea, "but still." Edmund pushed himself of the rock and began pacing as he listened. "I think they're going to."

"I don't think so." He stated as he continued pacing, for no reason other than that he was bored of sitting.

Lily began to roll her eyes again, but was interrupted mid-roll when Edmund continued, "Well, you know if you insist."

He leaned himself against a nearby tree as he waited for her to question him.

She sighed. "Whatever do you mean?" she asked sarcastically.

Edmund's eyes gleamed with an idea he found truly hilarious. He walked back to the rock, a smile creeping across his face. "Well, we could always bet on it."

Lily gawked, giving him a disbelieving look. "You want to bet, on our siblings, emotions?" She said slowly, letting him know how stupid that sounded. She crossed her arms. "Am I the only one who thinks that's an absolutely horrible idea?"

"No, it's just a harmless bet! And It's not like we'll meddle. We're simply betting on how nature chooses to take its course." Edmund moved his arm across the air as if to signify the course of nature. "Plus we need a little fun in these upsetting times don't we?" He added putting his hand on her shoulder in a consoling manner.

Lily giggled. "Well I suppose if you put it that way…"

"Then we have a bet!" Edmund interrupted jumping off the rock and placing his hands on his sides.

"Yepp," Lily started, flinging her legs back and forth into the air. "So _when _I win, what will you give me?"

Edmund's smile faded and his hands dropped to his sides. He had been so caught up in his own personal humiliation of his brother, that he completely forgotten that when you make a bet you normally have to gamble something.

He ran his hands over his body in search of something to wager, when he felt a chain on his neck. He followed it with his fingers, and pulled the silver thing attached to it out from under his shirt. "You can have this."

He walked up towards her and handed her two, thin rectangular pieces of metal. She took them in her hands and fingered them nimbly. On one was a crest of some sort, she didn't recognize it at all, and on the other was his name _Edmund Pevensie_ engraved in a sort of windy font that was not quite cursive, but not quite print. On the backs of each was a sort of curly symbol that began as a one half spiral that had two other half spirals stemming from it. Along the perimeter was a wavy looking design that felt funny under her fingers. She looked up from them and asked, "What are they?"

"They're called dog tags. My school gave them to me." Edmund answered, trying to make them sound much more important than they actually were. It didn't seem like she would have cared though, she appeared to like them a lot. "Ok!" She responded releasing them from her hands.

"Now," Edmund started as he placed the dog tags back under his shirt, "What will you give me when _I _win?"

Lily rolled her eyes playfully at his emphasis on the word "I" as she began fingering through her jewelry.

She searched through her necklaces, bracelets and rings, searching for something that wasn't too girly. As she looked at her hand she noticed a plain silver ring on her index finger. It actually wasn't completely plain, it had her name _Lily_ written on the bottom of it, but she had had it for so long that it wasn't that noticeable. She slowly slid it off her finger and looked at it, smiling as she remembered what Louis had said when he gave it to her.

"_No matter where I go, and no matter where you are, I will always come back to you." _

She was slightly reluctant to part with it, but was so sure she would win that it didn't really matter. "You can have this." She placed the silver ring in his outstretched palm.

Edmund took the piece of jewelry, looked at it, and then gave Lily a look that clearly said, "Are you serious?"

Lily sighed and added, "Would you really rather have one of these?" She pointed to her necklaces, each one more feminine than the next.

"You know, doesn't it get uncomfortable to have all that jewelry on all the time?" Edmund inquired, pointing to her neck as he shifted his weight onto one hip jauntily.

Lily smiled a bit but made a clucking noise with her mouth. "They're not that heavy, and stop trying to change the subject, do you want the ring or not?" She added in a bit of an exasperated manner that made Edmund chuckle.

He let out an over-the-top breath of defeat as he nodded his head, accepting the ring as her wager.

He motioned for her to stand up from the rock and extended his hand to her after she did so.

Lily looked at it, "What are you doing?" He laughed, still not able believe that after all this time, Narnians still hasn't mastered the art of shaking hands.

"Put your hand in my hand." Lily did so, "what now?" she asked.

Edmund cleared his throat, "I bet my amazing dog tags that my brother Peter and your sister Serena will _not_ fall in love during this merry little adventure." He hoped that she couldn't tell he had absolutely no idea how to officiate a bet; luckily for him, she didn't seem to notice. He motioned for her to copy him. "I bet my _extremely_ amazing ring that my sister Serena and your brother Peter _will_ fall in love, during this…merry…little…adventure?" Edmund smiled and silently laughed at her as he raised and lowered their arms as to confirm their words.

The two of stood there in an awkward silence for a few moments, their hands still attached. They just stood there emptily looking at each other, until Edmund turned his gaze down to their hands.

"You know," he started, moving his fingers within her grasp, "I can actually feel your bracelets on my hand. I think that's a clear sign you have far too many on." He joked, leading her to pull her hand from his and scoff, as she picked up her fire wood and proceeded to return to the camp. (For truly it was getting rather late).She was followed by a startled Edmund who quickly picked up his pile and ran after her, crying, "I was only joking! You can wear as many bracelets as you want!"

* * *

Peter and Serena had managed to find a row of strawberry and blueberry bushes growing in a clearing, and had wasted no time before picking the round pieces of fruit from it.

Peter had taken the top layer of his shirt out of his belt and was now placing blue circular objects into it. He looked over at Serena, who had taken the sash off her waist and made it into a make-shift basket to hold her strawberries, and took in her appearance. Her blonde hair fell slightly over her face, which he could only really see from the side, highlighting her features. If she hadn't been such a hard-headed female dog (yes female dog, he wasn't very big on swearing) he would have found her rather beautiful. As he looked at her, he realized just how perfect she looked next to the bush. She looked like she was meant to be near it. He realized how odd that sounded, but it was just so true.

He looked away and began picking blueberries again, having just stuck one into his mouth when he heard her say, "Is there something wrong with my berry picking or what?" Peter looked around his bush, noticing that she had stopped picking, and was now staring at him. "Well?"

"There's nothing wrong with your berry picking" he replied very flatly, before swallowing his blueberry.

"Then why were you staring at me?" Peter looked up at her, ceasing his picking once again. All beauty had left her face.

He didn't know what to tell her. You can't just say, "I was looking at you because you look cool next to a bush." That would just be incredibly weird. So instead he answered, "I wasn't. I was spacing out in your general direction. You shouldn't be so defensive all the time."

It was actually true in a sense. Peter had found that she defended herself against every odd look or word that anyone gave her. It was aggravating, but intriguing at the same time. He could tell she was hiding something; he just had no idea what, and it bothered him to no end.

Serena lowered her gaze and continued picking strawberries. Perhaps she was a little to defensive for her own good, but it was just the way she was. She didn't enjoy anyone prying or trying to read her, she was a locked box, and she liked it that way.

They continued to pick berries until Serena noticed the pinkish tones in the clouds, signifying that it was getting late. She mentioned this to Peter, who agreed that they should head home.

As they were heading back to the camp, berries sitting in their clothing, Peter decided to voice a question that had been eating away at him for a while now. "Won't your family be worried about you?"

Serena chewed and swallowed the strawberry she had been sucking on before answering, "I doubt Lily's worried about me."

She knew what he had meant.

He rolled his eyes, not appreciative of her sarcasm, "no I mean like your parents, won't they be worried? I mean you just walked off."

"No one's worried." Serena answered flatly, lifting her make-shift basket up to her chest to take another strawberry.

"What do you-" Peter stopped. He got it. "I'm sorry, what happened to them?" He asked again, looking forward.

"You ask a lot of questions." Serena answered, a little angrier then she had meant to. Snooping into her life was not a good way to make her happy.

"Sorry, I was just curious." Peter replied, a bit taken back by her sudden anger.

Serena sighed as she ate another strawberry. She realized that the best way to make this guy stop drilling information out of her, would be to give him a bit of what he was drilling for.

"No it's ok," she started, dropping the berries back by her waste and putting a piece of hair behind her ear. "But if you must know," she took a deep breath, "my father was killed by Telmarines and my mother died 'cause he did, happy?" She blew out a silent breath of air as she finished. As simply as she had put it, her parents' death was, regrettably, not an easy thing to tell anyone. Someone she had just met, nonetheless.

"I_-_I'm sorry." He was not quite sure what else to say, he hadn't expect her to answer him. "How old were you?" Serena faced him for the first time during their whole walk back, "my father 4, my mother 6."

Although her face held its usual blank expression, her eyes said otherwise. They were filled with an anger and sadness Peter had the strange urge to pick through.

He knew that he should stop questioning her, but he simply couldn't. "So then, who raised you?"

"Is it that hard to believe that a six year old managed to raise herself?" Anger was starting to flow from her eyes to her face.

"Well I guess not, you seem very capable," Peter replied hoping his complement would keep her from becoming enraged, "but, what about your sister? And didn't you say Trumpkin was a family friend? Did he help raise you?"

"Look," Serena interrupted angrily, sick of the constant questioning. She turned her whole body towards him, "what do you think gives you the right to interrogate me." Peter looked at her, stunned as she continued, "when told that someone's parents are dead, normal people would say 'O, I'm sorry' and leave it at that, but no, not you. You have to squeeze every single last detail out. Does it bother you that maybe; just maybe, I don't want to tell someone I just met every single aspect of my life!" She was steaming with fury, and turned away from him quickly beginning to walk away. She covered her eyes as she began to tear up. There were few moments when she would actually cry out of anger, and this wasn't gonna be one of them. It was too stupid a situation.

Peter was rather speechless. No one had ever said anything like that to him, not even his own family. A surge of the maturity he had clung to swelled through his body as he ran after her, careful not to spill the berries in the process.

He hurried to catch up with her, and as he did so, noticed she had her hand over her eyes. It looked like she was trying to keep herself from crying.

He mentally scolded himself. He hadn't, for a second, even considered that it might not be easy for her to talk about it, and he had to admit he felt bad. He placed his hand on her shoulder, causing her to wince and take her hand from her eyes.

"Look I'm-" Serena looked up at him; her eyes perfectly dry, and removed his hand from her shoulder. "Whatever, it's fine." She interrupted and began to walk away again, but was stopped when Peter re-grabbed her.

"No, not whatever," He stated, looking her in the eyes. "Look, you can't blame me for being curious about a girl who's randomly in Narnia. I don't know who you are; you could be some crazy monster for all I know."

Serena gave him a look, "was that supposed to make me laugh?" Peter frowned, "No, but that's beside the point."

"Then what is your point? That I'm some crazy person that's gonna kill you all in your sleep?" She interrupted, unimpressed with his pitiful attempt at making nice.

He released her shoulder. "No, I'm just…I'm…look I'm trying to apologize alright?" He was getting a bit frustrated by his own inability to say a simple "I'm sorry."

Serena just stared at him. She was almost touched by his attempt to apologize to her. At least it showed he had a heart somewhere.

Peter ran his fingers through his hair; it was obvious she just wasn't going to be won over. He kept his hand on his head as he felt something soft on his shoulder.

"Well as apologies go," he looked up and saw that Serena had placed her arm on his shoulder; he took his hand from his head as she continued. "That was probably the worst one I've ever heard."

He would have taken this as an insult, accept for the fact that she was smiling, or at least half-smiling.

"But, I would like to mention," she added, her smile fading, "that if you want to know stuff about me, I'd suggest you let _me_ tell you it. I'm not one for excessive questioning."

With that she tapped his arm and began walking away before he could get a chance to answer.

Peter stood there, pondering what she had just said, as he resumed his walking, certain not to fall behind.

He tried to think of how he would ever be able get information out of her, when he realized, that it was just her way of saying that he wouldn't, at least, not without him contributing some in return.

* * *

Back at the campsite, Susan, Lucy and Trumpkin were sitting on the logs that they had nicely arranged around the fire-less fire pit. It had been a few hours, and neither group had yet returned with they're assigned supplies. Lucy feared the worst. "What if they got lost, or have been eaten, or fell off a cliff, or got kidnapped, or-"

"Lucy, Lucy! I'm sure they're fine! They're probably just doing an extra thorough job." Susan consoled her sister as she pulled the small girl into her arms. Although she'd never tell her, she feared that Lucy may be right.

Trumpkin, on the other hand, was not as much worried as he was very upset. He was cold and hungry and was frankly not a very happy dwarf at the moment. He had stud up and was now pacing the ground, mumbling things like "stupid kids" and "I should have gotten everything myself."

It was getting later, and the light from a fire would be graciously invited within the next few minutes. Just as Lucy was pointing this out, she heard a rustling from the bushes, and subconsciously latched onto Susan as the older girl cried out, "Pete? Peter is that you?"

"No," answered a voice she knew all too well, "but it is your other brother that you love so much!"

Susan and Lucy laughed as Edmund and Lily emerged from the shadows, each carrying a handful of firewood. "Thank you!" Trumpkin exclaimed as he took each of the kids' large armful of firewood over to the fire-pit. "Finally we can have fire like civilized people!"

"Nice to see you too," Lily replied confused.

Everyone began to giggle as another rustling came from the bushes. They all smiled big smiles as Peter and Serena emerged with piles of berries. "Food! Thank Aslan!" Trumpkin cried, directing Peter and Serena to a piece of gray cloth he had laid out. "He's been waiting," Lucy laughed as they stared in amusement at the small man's happiness.

Peter and Serena cleaned off their clothing and straightened themselves out as everyone sat for dinner. It was relatively boring since everyone was far too tired and hungry to carry out actual conversations.

Once they had finished eating, they moved the logs out of the way and cleared the area for sleeping. Although the ground wasn't incredibly comfortable, they all seemed to find it perfectly acceptable as they all drifted off into dreamland.

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**A/N Yay chapter 5 is finally done! I really hope everyone didn't find the betting scene too cheesy. I realize that the whole idea of it is, but it comes up again later on so it's needed. (PS I RE-WROTE THE BETTING SCENE SO I HOPE IT'S BETTER NOW!) I tried to keep Edmund and Peter as in-character as possible, I'm not sure how well that turned out but whatever, I tried! Anyways I hope you all enjoyed it!**

**So what do you think? Like it? Hate it? What did you like/hate? Tell me!:D**


	6. Dreams, Princes, and Mysterious Men

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own the CoN, I only own my characters!**

**So finally here it is! I'm so very sorry it took so long (I've been sooo busy lately) but I really hope you all enjoy it! :D**

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A black shadow was nearing. For every step she took the shadow leapt a mile. Within a matter of minutes or moments it had enveloped her. It sent her on a confused ride through blurry memories, untraceable sounds, and shadowy silhouettes of familiar strangers. Her hair was blowing about her, although she could not feel a wind on her skin. Her head began throbbing. Her brain felt it was melting as she heard a voice,_

"_Lily." _

_The melting stopped but her head still ached. _

"_Lily." _

_It was a man; his voice was familiar and soothing. The sound caused the pain to stop, and her brain to become solid again. _

"_Lily"_

_She didn't understand what he was saying. The word was as familiar as his voice, but she couldn't quite place it. _

"_Lily." _

_This time a feminine sound started penetrating the man's voice. Her hair stopped blowing._

"_Lily." _

_The voice became more and more feminine, the soothing male slipping away. As the voice changed, the word became more and more familiar. All other sounds around her became silent, and the images dimmed._

"_Lily." _

_This time the voice was all female, and the word was on the tip of her tongue. _

"_Lily." _

_It was her sister. It was her name. The world began to swirl around her as the voice grew louder, ringing in her ears._

"_Lily!" _

She opened her eyes.

"Lily. Lily, wake up!" Serena was standing over her little sister, gently shaking her. Ever since the incident on the boat, she was careful to not let her sister dream for too long. She whispered her name again, cautious not to wake the others, "Lily!"

Her eyes opened. They were glazed as she emerged from her sleep, but they were open. She let out a quiet groan as Serena ran her hand softly over the young girl's pale cheek.

"Lily. Lily, what did you dream?" Her voice was caring, but could not contain the urgency for an answer. Lily blinked her eyes, realizing her recent endeavors had only taken place in her head, but her brain was still a mush. She was confused, so confused.

"Lily, what did you dream?" Serena shook her sister again to get a reply. She slid a delicate hand under Lily's head and placed it on her knee.

Lily heard her sister's query and began searching through her recent memory, it was never easy describing a dream, and this one was no different. Each image passing through her skull brought with it the irritating sensation one gets when trying to describe a flavor along with the familiar feeling of dizziness.

She voiced her thoughts as she picked through, hoping to ease her sister's worries. "There was a shadow, and pictures, and-" "Did you see anybody? Hear anybody?" Serena interrupted; all caring had left her voice. She loved her sister more than anything, and her answer was more important than being gentle.

Lily thought through, she knew she heard someone. It was so familiar. She looked up to the sky as she thought. The vast landscape above her was still dark, but it was lightening, stating that it was early morning. "Louis." Lily looked back at her sister, her voice full of a strange mix of love and fear. "I heard Louis."

Serena stared at her sister, frowning. "Great."

* * *

Peter closed his eyes. He was pretending. Being King of Narnia had given him a vast knowledge of the importance of accurately being able to pretend to sleep. Whether it was for military reasons, or to avert speaking with an angry Susan, it was useful skill to have. It's also not just closing your eyes, for you must also be able to mimic breathing patterns as well as know how to be absolutely still. Once again, it was a very useful skill, and one he was very proud of.

He closed his eyes after realizing he had had them open the whole time. Not that the sisters could have seen him (he was facing the other direction) it just wasn't a very safe move. He looked at the back of his eyelids and ran through the conversation he had just overheard, as he waited for the girls to fall back asleep. Out of everything that they had said, only one thing stood out to him above all else. "Louis." The name echoed in his brain as the heaviness of his eyes finally got to him and he drifted off into unconsciousness. That was the one thing Peter had never been able to perfect, not actually falling asleep.

* * *

Serena opened her eyes. Her eyelids lingering a bit halfway up her eyeballs to avoid being blinded by the light. The campsite was now relatively well lit with the nice grayish glow that dawn brings. She smiled a bit at this, as her eyes adjusted, dawn was always her favorite time of day. However, the curve of her mouth straightened as she noticed a certain blonde-headed boy running into the forest.

She quickly sat herself up to get a better look, but he was already out of sight. In an irritated movement she found her hand against her hair, fingering the small knotted curls that had accumulated during the course of the night.

She surveyed the campsite and noticed that Lucy was missing as well. She ran her fingers through her hair once more before turning to her sister.

She knelt down to Lily who was still fast asleep. She knew, however, that she was not dreaming. For her face turned a sickly pale when she had those dreams, and she never had one more than once a night. She shook the sleeping girl.

Lily moved and groaned, indicating her unhappiness with being woken up. "What is it?"

"Peter and Lucy are gone, I'm gonna go try to find them. Wake everyone up, k." Serena whispered as she stood up and dusted herself off. Lily was about to object and say she wanted to go as well, but Serena was off into the forest before she had a chance.

She sighed and scooted over to Edmund, for he was the closest person to her, his feet had been about 2 feet from her head, and moved to wake him.

He was currently sleeping on his back, but the boy's dark hair had gotten relatively messy during the course of the night and was now sticking up in all the wrong places. His mouth was slightly agape, causing Edmund to have an expression that caused Lily to emit a small giggle.

She reached over and shook his shoulder, "Edmund, wake up."

* * *

Serena speed walked through the forest. It wasn't too dense, so she could see around it pretty easily. She wasn't quite sure what she was looking for, but situations like this, as they sometimes do, pretty much always turn out right. And in a matter of minutes she happened upon that rather peculiar sight.

Peter had his hand around Lucy's mouth in an obvious attempt to keep her silent. Her eyes were wide from shock, but softened upon seeing her brother. He removed his hand from her mouth as they looked around the bush they were kneeling behind, eyeing something Serena couldn't quite see. Peter placed his index finger across his lips signaling Lucy to be quiet. He rose from his squat and proceeded to cautiously round the bush. Serena stepped forward to get a better look when she heard a loud yell and the loud clanging of metal.

She ran forward, stopping next to a surprised Lucy. Peter had found himself in a sword fight with a tan stranger. The two were flinging swords at each other like there was no tomorrow. The tan man had managed to dodge an over-the-head sword swing from Peter, causing him to get his weapon stuck in tree trunk, giving the man the perfect opportunity to kick him in the stomach.

With Peter on the ground, the man leapt to tug the sword out of tree, and Peter searched around himself for a weapon, managing to find a large rock with which he was ready to strike with. And he would have too, if Lucy hadn't yelled out a giant "Stop!" causing them both to stop in their tracks and look at the small girl.

Peter gave her a small, most likely unintended, snarl as he looked around him. Out of the trees came narnians of all sorts, ranging from centaurs and minotaurs to talking animals and dwarves.

Peter looked back at the man standing before him as he pieced everything together. A strand of medium length dark brown hair was covering the man's watchful face. "Prince Caspian?" Peter asked, studying this man closer. "Yes, and who are you?" He spoke in an almost Spanish accent which screamed his Telmarine ancestry. He still had a look of cautiousness upon his features, not quite trusting the boy, most likely only a few years his junior, standing before him.

"Peter!" The two boys turned as the answer was declared by Susan. Behind her came the rest of the group, slightly out of breath after sprinting subsequently upon hear the loud clanging of the two's swordfight. They all joined Lucy and Serena's side.

Caspian, who had Peter's sword in his hand, looked down and studied it. He came to the quick conclusion that due to all the evidence given, he may be in the presence of The Peter. "High King Peter?"He stated, more as a reassurance to himself then an actual question.

"I believe you called?" Peter replied coolly, tired of responding to all these questions with a simple "yes."

"Well yes," Caspian started, looking Peter up and down, "I just thought you'd be older."

Peter frowned, aggravated that his age continued to pose a problem for people. "Well if you like, we can come back in a few years."

"No! That's alright." Caspian exclaimed, "You're just, you're not exactly what I expected."

He looked over the Pevensies, confirming that _they_ were the ones who were going to help him fight. He found himself, however, doing a slight double take after seeing Susan. He made a quick mental note of her beauty as he surveyed the rest of the group, his eyes landing on the two blonde girls as he did so. He would have questioned who they were if it wasn't for the youngest Pevensie boy adding to his question, which would not have made sense if he was interrupted by a separate one.

"Neither are you." Edmund added as he eyed all the creatures that had previously been faithful to the white witch, now apparently on their side.

"A common enemy," A male badger started, stepping his ovular body forward "Unites evens the oldest of foes."

"We have graciously awaited you're return my liege, our hearts and souls are at your service." A rather large mouse exclaimed walking up to peter, on his hind legs no doubt. He was brown and wore a feathered green hat which, to be honest, looked rather charming upon his furry head. He bowed to his King as to pledge his undying allegiance.

Lucy thought he was the most adorable thing she's ever seen. "O my gosh, he is so cute." She whispered to Lily who nodded in agreement.

The mouse overheard this and was not happy. "Who said that!"

The brunette aimed her blue eyes towards her feet, embarrassed. "Sorry."

The mouse turned to the small girl, realizing his horrible mistake. "Your majesty," he began, he added a small bow as he chose his words, "With the greatest respect; I do believe courageous courteous or chivalrous might more befit, a knight of Narnia." He unsheathed and re-sheathed his sword to prove what he had said, with a spirited expression face plastered upon his furry face.

Peter smiled, letting out a small laugh at the sight of the creature. "Well, it's good to know some of you can handle a blade." Although he didn't quite mean it to, Caspian took a slight offence to Peter's remark.

"Yes indeed," The mouse continued, "And I have recently been put it to good use gathering weapons for your army sire." He puffed out his brown haired chest as he said this, aiming to please his King as much as possible.

Caspian and one of the head centaurs, named Glenstorm, glanced at each other. Serena noticed this gesture, for she had been staring very intently at the horse man, slightly wary of his strong build, and figured that it had indeed been them who had gathered together said weapons. She smiled at the idea of the mouse trying to sound all heroic. She felt bad for the poor thing.

"Good," Peter continued, putting his attention back on Caspian, "Cause we're gonna need every sword we can get." His words were laced with the strong flavor of leadership, sending Caspian's taste buds into a frenzy as he realized the boy standing before him was now attempting to take over his position. He narrowed his eyes as he responded, never taking them off Peter as he handed him his sword. "Well, then you will probably be wanting yours back."

Peter took his weapon and turned away, not forgetting to roll his eyes in the process. He began walking forward, causing everyone to jump back to life to follow him. He had only walked about 10 feet, when the familiar annoying voice rang through his eardrums. "Hey, where exactly are we going?"

Peter turned around to see the figure of Serena with her hands on her hips, her strong blue eyes staring him down. She was standing between Susan and Edmund. Her sister and Edmund continued quietly whispering to each other, inciting Susan to give them a slight gesture to be quiet, for she herself had been wondering the exact same thing.

Peter stared at the girl, whose question had caused the whole party to stop. Although he hadn't known her for very long, he was already incredibly tired of her.

He was moments away from answering with a witty response, when the mouse, whose name they had learned was Reepicheep, exclaimed, "Well to Aslan's How of course!"

Peter glanced at the mouse, a surge of gratitude streaming through his eyes, before turning back to Serena, whose hands were now folded across her chest. "Of course, didn't you know that?"

Serena snorted and turned her face back to Susan, restarting their conversation in an unnecessarily loud voice. Peter's brain let out a small "hooray" as he continued walking in his previous direction.

Caspian, sure to not lose his high esteem, joined Peter's side and began chatting with him. About armies, Narnia, and other related topics. He figured they would never be true friends, but it was better than nothing.

The party continued walking for about 15 minutes. With Caspian and Peter leading, each small group was holding their own conversations. Susan and Serena spoke about the gorgeousness of the scenery, with a few slight mentions of their annoyances with the boy upfront. Edmund and Lily were chatting about their favorite talking animals, careful to keep their voices out of earshot of said beasts. Lucy trailed behind Trumpkin and his friends, Trufflehunter; a badger who was roughly half the size of Trumpkin and his dwarf friend Nickabrick. Lucy over heard Trumpkin respond that he liked the Pevensie's well enough, causing the girl to smile at the small man, whose gruff exterior she could see right through.

They continued travelling until they reached a gigantic open meadow. The sandy green color of the grass was like a breath of fresh air against all the rich greens and browns they had been surrounded by. At the far end of the meadow, however, was something truly fantastic. It was what looked like a small mountain that had trees growing on both sides, leaving only the middle a gray rocky color. There were horizontal cuts made in the side of it, causing the building to look like a rough, greatly enlarged stair-like pyramid that had ridged horizontally across. As they got closer, they noticed a large group of centaurs, who had faces stating their great anticipation at their arrival. They walked under a great stone archway, as they neared what they realized was Aslan's How.

About 20 Centaurs had lined up on the risen stone platforms, just above the entrance. In their hands they had swords, which they all unsheathed in a timely manner. The four Pevensie children subconsciously walked forward, having been so used to this type of treatment that felt incredibly natural. Prince Caspian, however, forcibly held himself back, accepting that the Kings and Queens must go first. He then followed, behind him Lily and Serena walked, taking in their surroundings, followed by Trumpkin and his friends, then everyone else.

Hours later, after many meeting and greetings, and a general tour of the fort, Peter Caspian and Edmund were scoping out the weaponry. Caspian was explaining how even though their armaments may not have been what they were used to, they were indeed defensible.

As they observed their soldiers and artillery, Susan entered the room. "Peter," the boy looked up to his sister, "You're going to want to see this."

She led them to Lucy, Serena and Lily, who were looking at paintings on the walls. Caspian, upon hearing their confusion on the matter, decided to show them the room, he figured to be the most important in the whole fort. He removed a torch from wall and guided them down the passageway.

He led them to a large stone room. The walls were the same color and texture as the rest of the fort, however, the one thing that kept it apart from all the rest, was probably why it had been so important. Around the walls were carvings of narnian creatures, and in the center, a carving of the majestic lion, Aslan. In the middle, was the broken stone table Susan and Lucy had witnessed the great lion be sacrificed on so long ago.

Caspian placed his torch against a large-basin-like object causing the whole room to become illuminated with a fiery glow.

The Pevensies and the sisters looked around in awe of the room. But a bittersweet feeling run through the Pevensie's bodies, bits of which appeared on their faces.

Serena and Lily had learned about the stone table and Aslan's sacrifice throughout their lives, but there was something surreal about having the real kings and queens looking solemnly upon it. Something that brought the old stories to life.

Lucy seemed the saddest of all. "He must know what he's doing." She directed at Susan, who nodded, understanding the reference her sister was making, as she looked back up at the carvings around the room. They all stood silently for a few moments, when Peter decided to break the silence, letting his siblings know that there was something in the present they needed to take care of.

"I think it's about time we found out what going on." Peter replied. Lucy nodded sadly, as if being taken out of her thought about Aslan.

"But where's the fun in that?" A deep unseen voice questioned. Peter froze and turned his face towards where the sound had come from. "What?" He responded, as he placed the hand on his sword ready to use it if it became necessary. He motioned to the group to stay quiet, as Lily had begun to mouth something.

"Why," The voice continued, a playful tone emerging, "once you've found out everything, then there will be nothing left to find out. Leaving life an empty shell of knowledge you've already obtained. Now where, pray tell, is the fun in that?"

Caspian, who was ready to announce his displeasure with the secretiveness of the speaker, was interrupted by a loud giggling.

Everyone looked around to find Lily with her hand over her mouth, desperately trying to quiet her laughter. Edmund, who was standing next to her, placed his hand on her shoulder and asked, "are you ok?"But was ignored.

"What?" The voice said again, this time attaching itself to a speaker as the shadow of a person slowly crept across the archway above the stone table. "Does my wisdom amuse you?"

Lily, whom the speaker seemed to be addressing, abruptly sopped giggling and looked towards the table, as a man appeared next to it, light bouncing around his thin figure. He was a relatively tall and lanky man, about a few inches taller than Caspian. His arms, which were covered by pirate sleeves, uncrossed themselves as he stepped towards the group, revealing his brown vest underneath, the wrinkling in the fabric did not make it look particularly well made. The man's face was long and rectangular, and although he looked only about 25, something about his presence seemed older.

An immense smile grew on Lily's face. "Louis!" She cried as she ran and jumped into the man's arms.

His knees bent a little at the shock, but the gigantic smile that played upon his thin lips took away any hint of discomfort. He laughed as he held her, her face buried in his chest. It seemed that right before their eyes she had become a 5 year old, running to her father as he returned from work. "Louis, I missed you so much." She whispered into his shirt, her voice was quivering a bit, indicating the tears attempting to penetrate her eyes.

The group watched in a general confusion at the two. Wondering for one thing who he was, and most of all how he had entered seemingly unnoticed.

Peter, remembering the girl next to him, who had remained oddly quiet through the whole thing, angled his face to her, not taking his eyes off Lily and the man, and asked, "Who is that?" When he didn't get a reply he turned his whole head towards Serena and looked at her.

She was glaring at them.

It wasn't even her normal glare; it was a hate filled glare. A glare that made Peter turn his face away fast, and mutter a "never mind."

He could tell right away that she did not like this man at all.

* * *

**A/N Yay Louis is finally introduced! Once again I'm sorry it took such a long time, but school can keep you occupied for a while! Anywho i really hope to get the next chapter out as soon as possible. Thanks for reading! I hope you like it so far! :) **

**So what do you think? Like it? Hate it? What did you like/hate? Tell me!:D**


	7. Introductions, Water, and Propositions

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own CoN I only own my own characters. **

**So here is chapter 7! I'm so proud of myself for getting this up in under a week :D So I hope you all enjoy it, and reviews are very welcome :)

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The dining room, if it could even really be called that, in Aslan's How was lit by torches. Each one blazing a stream of light over the table, illuminating the food sprawled out upon it. However, the food remained relatively untouched, because the group it had been intended for was currently stalled in a room they had only meant to visit for a few moments.

A certain curly haired blonde girl had her arms crossed tightly across her chest, her face fixated on the two hugging individuals in front of her. As relieved as she should have been to see the man her sister was currently embracing, she couldn't help but feel a pang of hatred surge through her body. He had a habit of leaving, and then coming back just in the nick of time before any permanent damage could be done. It didn't seem as though real love could be feeding someone who's only purpose for returning was to stop a truly horrible event from occurring, then leave once more until it happened again. Even as they seemed attached by a loving bind, she couldn't help but remember that his presence was just part of a continuous and horrible loop.

Serena found herself tapping her foot impatiently as she waited for them to let go of each other so they could leave the wretchedly ill-lit room.

Although the anger on her face was evident, it didn't stop one Edmund Pevensie from questioning her on the very subject.

"Um, who exactly is that?" he asked her in a slight whisper, eyes flickering back towards his new friend and her strange comrade.

Serena moved her eyes to look at Edmund, hoping in her heart that his new friendship with Lily would remain intact. She replied in the friendliest manner she could manage, which of course, ended up not being very friendly at all.

"That's Louis."

"I gathered." Edmund interrupted her but put his hands up in an apologetic manner after being given a look.

"Yeah, well you could call him a father figure, I suppose."She answered, adding the last part quietly. She had never really considered the official term for what Louis was to her and Lily, and "Father figure" seemed to be the closest thing.

"How do you know him?" Lucy inquired next, for the whole room had turned their attention on Serena, much to her dismay.

She turned her head towards the small girl then back to her sister, gently rocking her body back and forth and she spoke with an airy laugh laced into her words, "It's a looong story."

"But it sure is a wonderful one."

Serena blinked as the man on everybody's mind spoke to her. She gave him a wary look as he walked slowly towards her, Lily trailing behind him. "Hello Serena. I've missed you."

It was very evident that he hadn't intended to tell the story he believed to be so wonderful, but just used it to get Serena's attention. _Typical Louis_ she thought.

Serena curved her mouth up in a quick agreeing smile, before looking away.

"Now what would be so horrible," Louis began, stepping a bit closer to the blonde girl as he did so, "as to give me one hug?" He outstretched his arms towards the girl, inviting her to step into them.

Serena looked him up and down, debating whether or not to accept his offer. Her decision was made, to her displeasure, by her sister. "Just hug him Serena!" She was standing to Louis's left, her arms crossed. The little girl attitude she got whenever Louis was around aggravated Serena to no end.

She rolled her eyes and stepped forward in defeat, and was engulfed by Louis arms.

He smelled of cinnamon and other earthy scents she couldn't identify. His noney body never ceased to amaze her with its comfort. Part of her wanted to hold on forever, while the other part couldn't wait to get away. Soon that part took over, and she let go of Louis quickly, taking a step away from him as she did so.

He smiled warmly at her, his high cheekbones rising beneath his grey eyes as he surveyed the rest of the group. "So, are you two going to introduce me to your friends?" Although he said "two", it was clear that he meant only Serena, seemingly forgetting Lily who was standing behind him, pouting.

Serena picked up her hand and made minor gestures towards each person as she introduced them, starting from the dark haired boy next to her sister, whose eyes were blankly still staring at the tall man.

"That's King Edmund, Queen Susan, Queen Lucy, Prince Caspian, and King Peter." Her voice sounded rather bored, but it didn't stop Louis from being any more enthralled as each name was revealed. A little light in his eyes turned on as she pointed to each person in the room.

"Hello everyone," he started, his smooth voice extremely level and pleasant as he continued with his own introduction. "It's so wonderful to meet you all. Now," he clapped his hands together softly "I know my turning up here might be a bit, startling, but I assure you I mean no harm." He spoke in a much rehearsed manner, as if he knew what everyone would be thinking and planned his response in advance.

"But how did you even get in here?" Louis turned his darkly blonde head towards Caspian, whose sword was still sharply pointed towards the man, his eyes narrow with distrust.

"Why, I simply walked right in the door." He laughed, causing Caspian to falter a bit with his grip on the weapon. "What, did you believe I flew in? Or just appeared out of thin air?" He laughed heartily as Caspian lowered his sword, his cheeks turning a warm red against his dark skin.

"Well to be honest," Susan added, glancing at everyone around her, "That is kind of what we were thinking."

Louis turned towards the girl, another glitter passing through his eyes. "Don't worry lovely queen; I simply slipped in when everyone was making a fuss over your arrival. I am, sometimes regrettably, quite fond of making peculiar entrances." He added another chuckle, before diverting his eyes over to Peter, who still had his sword in hand.

"I know what you're thinking son." Peter stepped back, a bit in shock at being addressed out of the blue. "But I am not their father, or their brother, or any other relative related by blood." Though he spoke in an almost comical manner, his face remained relatively nonchalant.

"Then what are you?" Edmund jumped in, his voice sounding new after being fairly quiet and still since they had entered the room.

Louis turned towards the boy, laughing breathily as he did so. "It's not a question of what I am, but who I am, but we'll argue grammar at a later point. Nevertheless, to answer your question, I like to consider myself a simple father figure. You see," He began pacing, making his spiel appear much more formal then it needed to be, his old dress boots scuffing against the floor caused a slight echo. "I am as loving and compassionate as a parent is; I just simply did not birth them. It's a pity I know. So does that answer your question?" He turned his head quickly back to Peter, causing the short ponytail on the back of his head to sway.

The boy was a tad bewildered by the quick manner of this man, who seemed to enjoy addressing people when were least expecting it, and could only muster a confused, "yes?" To the question he hadn't even asked.

They all figured Louis hadn't heard Serena already tell them his relation to the girls, but even if he had, he seemed to have everything so rehearsed in his mind that it would not have mattered.

Louis clapped his hands together; his long fingers winding around each other after the sound had been made. "Wonderful, now I do believe there is some food waiting for us in the dining area, and I suggest we go there now before it gets cold, or rotten."

They all nodded their heads slowly, as if trying to fully absorb this man's incredibly fast personality, before turning their attention to Caspian who was ready to lead them to their lunch.

As Lily began to make her way towards Louis, she was tapped by Edmund, whom she had almost completely forgotten was in the room. He asked her if she wanted to go to lunch, which clearly his way of inviting her to accompany him. As she nodded brightly to him her childishness began to fade away. She exited the Stone Table room chatting with him, avoiding any questions having to do with Louis, but found herself giving him slight sad flicker of her eyes as she left

What she saw, was Louis outstretching his arm to her sister.

As she moved to follow the group of people, Serena was gently tapped on the shoulder by a now serious eyed Louis. While she turned her eyes towards him he whispered, "I'd like to speak with you."

Serena curved her face to meet his. "About?"

"Something I discovered on my travels that I think may interest you." Although his voice remained perfectly level and blasé, a certain spark flashed in his eye as he spoke.

Serena looked down towards her feet, as if trying to figure out for herself what he meant, before asking, "Why would it interest me." Her words were entwined with more detestation then she intended, but nevertheless Louis's face erupted into a large toothy grin.

"Well that is why we will be talking now isn't it?" He chuckled and walked passed her, flashing a friendly smile before making his way to the empty doorway. But before leaving he stopped for a second, never looking away from the dark hallway, and called out, "You know, food really is one of the only reasons I live anymore." And with that he left, leaving Serena standing alone.

Though his closing statement was obviously meant to remind Serena that she should probably follow him to lunch, whether it had been intended or not, the sound of these words made her heart to drop a bit as she left the Stone Table behind her.

* * *

The lunch they were served composed of fairly earthy foods; mainly apples, potatoes, and few assortments of vegetables. But the mostly everyone had not eaten since the night before, and were all far too hungry to notice.

The long table they were eating at was comparable to that of a picnic table, only a bit less clean cut.

Lily, who was seated next to Louis, practically on his lap, was asking him all about his travels since he had last come home. The man simply laughed at all her questions and answered them with simple musings that didn't actually answer her questions at all, but the wittiness of his tidbits made her not even notice,

The remaining members of the group were chatting with each other. But every now and then they could not seem to control their urges to look at the man, whose odd entrance and introduction still had them all a bit jolted.

Edmund, who was sitting to Lily's right, made many attempts to hold a conversation with the youngest sister, but hearing her eccentric giggles derailed his train of thought, and had him awkwardly turning to one of his siblings for interaction.

Nevertheless, throughout all these loud conversations, the older of the sisters managed to stay quiet throughout, gingerly picking at the potato on her plate. Which she every now and then looked up from to eye her sister and the dirty-blonde man next to her.

Her silence did not go unnoticed, however, by the dirty-blonde man in question. He was continually trying to start a conversation with her, but was constantly turned down by either a small shrug of the shoulders or annoyed glare. Peter, being the observant man he was, decided that the odd awkward tension between everyone would need to be broken.

"So how do you guys know each other anyways?

Louis raised an eyebrow to the blonde boy. "I'm their fatherly figure remember?"

"No," Peter continued, reaching for his glass of water, "How did you meet them? I mean, father figure is not a relation usually hear every day." He placed his lips to the cup and tipped his hand forward, fluid gracing his tongue as he awaited a response.

Louis chuckled, "How _do_ people meet? I mean is it really possible to pinpoint the exact moment you first became acquainted with every creature _you've _ever met?" He chuckled again as Peter placed his now empty goblet back upon the table.

"Well I suppose not. But you can normally vaguely remember. Oh thank you." He said to a passing centaur who poured some more water into his glass.

"So let me rephrase that question," he continued, "When did you become their father figure?" He made quotation marks with his fingers as he said the last two words.

Louis chuckled again. "Well you could say it was when I met them." He laughed whole-heartily at his own joke, this time accompanied with a few giggles from Lily, who was listening intently to their conversation.

Peter reached for his water again, swiftly pushing half of it down his throat, before asking again, his teeth clenching slightly. "So when did you-"

"I think that's enough questions." Peter looked to the girl sitting a few seats away from him, her eyes narrowed in his direction.

"But I didn't even get an answer!" He smashed his goblet on the table, causing an unfortunately loud sound.

"Peter!"

He turned his head sharply to his side to see Susan giving him a horribly motherly look. He hadn't even noticed that everyone had stopped talking and were now looking at him, for he had really yelled a bit too loud.

"Sorry." He said quietly, looking down to his sister then to his plate, which still contained an uneaten potato and apple.

Thanks to his peripheral vision he could see that Louis had picked up a conversation with Caspian, leaving Lily, from what peter could hear, to once again converse with Edmund.

He lifted his head and reached his hand over to his cup again, nimbly fingering it before bringing it back up to his mouth. As he drank the remaining liquid, out of the corner of his eye he saw Serena glaring at Louis again, though he couldn't help but notice the new vulnerability laced in her expression. The last drop of water slipped down his throat as an idea began to form in his mind.

* * *

The second the last utensil was placed upon an empty plate, Serena excused herself from the table. Knowing that the moment she was unoccupied Louis would request her company, she came up with the excuse that she was in need of some light reading, remembering how she had noticed a dwarf with an armful of books passing by the table a few minutes prior.

She removed herself from the table and proceeded to find the dwarf with her ticket to freedom.

She only found the books, however, placed messily in a corner. (she figured the dwarf must have gone to do something else) And after briefly rummaging through the different books, she picked the one she would have on any normal day, entitled "The Young Monarchs of the Golden Age." She only felt a prick of awkwardness about choosing this particular book, being that the stars were within walking distance, but decided to stick her nose in it anyways.

She retreated to an open ledge on the side of the How. It was one of the smaller ones, and looked out towards the forest, the whole meadow below beautifully in view. Even though there were groups of narnians training below, the area was pretty quiet, fulfilling her desire to finally be able to think. Nonetheless, after about 20 minutes, she heard footsteps ascending the steps that led to her ledge.

"I have a proposition for you." Serena turned away from her book to the face of Peter Pevensie emerging through the doorway, slightly out of breath. She let out an irritated sigh and closed her book, careful to keep the title hidden from the blonde boy.

"And what is it?"

Peter walked over to the ridge and sat himself down about 2 feet away from her. "If I tell you something about me, then you tell me something about you." Ever since the incident in the woods, Peter had been trying to come up with a way to find out more about these sisters. And ever since Louis had arrived, his curiosity had grown even bigger.

"Well that's not cheesy is it?" Serena pointed out sarcastically, annoyed that the king had interrupted her serenity with such a lame idea. She changed her tune, however, once she saw Peter's eyes, full of anticipation. He was serious about this.

She looked away and added, "Besides, what would I want to know about you? It's not like you're in all the history books or anything." She flicked her book a little further away, as Peter looked out and placed his hands behind his head.

"Do you really think that all history books accurately portray everything? Do you think they've recorded every detail of our lives? Of course not!" He flung his hands forward to emphasize his statement, before turning to her once more. Her face was blank, but aware. He spoke again, calmer this time, "It's a fair deal." He outstretched his hand a bit, before retreating it back to his side, not expecting her to shake it.

She stared into his eyes for a brief moment, searching for any hidden motive he may have been concealing, but they seemed clear. Just a pair of subtly sparkling blue eyes staring down at her. She sighed, figuring giving into his dumb idea would get him off her back.

"Ok, you have a deal." He opened his mouth, a question ready to slip out, when she added, "but you go first."

Peter shut his mouth gruffly, but shrugged his shoulders in agreement.

She let her mouth slip into a slight smile and she placed her hands on her lap, thinking of a question. Once it came to her, her small grin faded, and she looked down at her lap, pulling a loose string from her skirt.

"Why did you guys leave Narnia?"

It was a question no history book was ever able to fully answer. She lifted her eyes, but not her face, away from her dress, observing Peter's eyebrows furrowing together as he answered.

"Well, we, my siblings and I, we were chasing after the White Stag," he started, using his hands as if trying to piece through his own memories. "And we happened upon a lamppost, and just kept walking, until we felt coats-"

"Coats?" Serena questioned slowly, her arms crossing as a look of disbelief crossed her face.

Peter let out an irritated sigh. "Yes coats. Now let me finish. Ok so when we reached the coats we just kept walking and before we knew it we were back home in England, about 10 years younger than when we left."

He looked at his hands, which were perfectly folded atop his legs, even though he had lived through it, his story really didn't make much sense.

"So you see," he added after glimpsing at her slightly opening mouth, sure what she was about to ask."We didn't mean to leave Narnia, it just sort of happened."

He turned his face to meet hers, and caught a glimpse of her eyes. Which for a split second he could have sworn contained warmth, before being darted away.

"You know," she began, not meeting his eyes again, "I think I believe you. Mainly because it's so illogical…that it has to be true." She added a speck of sarcasm into her voice.

He laughed, "Good, now I do believe it's my turn."

Serena nodded her head respectively, thinking of all the possible questions he could ask her, he sure seemed to have a lot. But, he ended up asking the one that she was the least ready to reply to.

"Why do you hate Louis?"

She turned her head in an abrupt motion to meet his eyes, sure that her own were looking more vulnerable then she would have liked.

"Why do you want to know that?" She asked quietly, glancing down at the few groups of narnians practicing their sword fighting below.

"Because you seem to really dislike him, and I would simply like to know why." He stated curtly, figuring it to be a perfectly reasonable inquiry.

"Well It's kinda long story." She said, rolling her head to portray length, but stopping herself as she observed his blank face.

"Do you think I came all the way up here for a short story?" His voice was serious. He looked at the same narnians Serena had before, making it obvious that he would have rather been down there.

Serena sighed."Well, if you hadn't already noticed," she began, periodically pushing her long strands of hair, which were being blown around by the slight wind starting up, out of her face. "Lily loves Louis."

Peter laughed. "I gathered that already."

Serena emitted a small "ha" before continuing, "Well something you may not be as aware of is the fact that this isn't the first time Louis has appeared unannounced. It's actually not even one of the few times he's done it."

She looked out at the scenery, the warm afternoon sun creating a glow above the trees. Peter copied her and asked, "So you don't like Louis because your sister loves him, and he shows up unexpectedly?"

She switched the placement of her legs as she shook her head.

"No, I hate Louis," she stalled a bit as she made sure not to allow anything to escape her lips that could instigate more questions to develop in the young king's brain. "Because he leaves, which, obviously, is why he returns, but to my, well mainly Lily's, great dismay, he leaves just as randomly as he comes home. Normally," she added, a slight dream like inflection creeping into her voice, "without even a simple note. Or goodbye." her voice trailed off as memories of waking up to find a crying Lily by her bedside sobbing that Louis was gone, flashed before her eyes. A familiar anger surged through her body as she continued, "and he would leave me with a heartbroken and hysterical Lily. So I hope you will understand why I'm not quite, in love with him." She finished with a raise of her eyebrow, intending to leave the somber subject on a somewhat sarcastic note.

Her eyebrow was met by a Peter with his hand placed on his chin, apparently engrossed in his thoughts. She was planning to ask him if had even been listening, when he piped, "Why does Lily love him?" He turned his head towards her, his hair beginning to fly every which way due to the strengthening wind.

Serena stared at him for a few seconds, her eyes fixed on one piece of hair that was stripped awkwardly across his forehead. She leaned forward, leaving about a foot between their noses, her eyes still fixed on the hair.

"You already asked your question." She stated flatly as she moved her hand towards his forehead, gently sweeping the annoying strand back into place. Peter moved his eyes upward to look at what she was doing, and responded, "Then ask me another."

She removed her hand from his face and back onto her leg, which she had scooped up underneath her body. "I'm afraid I simply cannot think of any."

And with that she pushed herself off the ground, came to a standing, and proceeded to walk away.

"Well when you do," Peter added, causing her to pause for a moment and look back at the boy, whose eyes had not moved from the area she had been sitting. "I'll be waiting." He flickered a small look back to her before proceeding to once again look out into the meadow, running his hand through his bangs as he observed the narnians below.

Serena smirked a bit before turning around, her thinly sandaled feet scratching the rock ground. "Then I'm afraid you'll be waiting a long time." She muttered, sure to be loud enough for him to hear, before she returned into the fort, hardly looking forward to her impending talk with Louis.

* * *

**A/N So there ya go chapter 7! I'm not sure it's my best work ever, but It's definitely not my worst!  
**

**So what do you think? Like it? Hate it? What did you like/hate? Tell me!:D**


	8. Dolls, Books, and Liars

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own CoN I only own my own origianl characters!**

**So here is chapter 8! It took me a week to do and it is actually rather short...haha sorry, but the next ones gonna be long! Anywho I hope you like it :D**

* * *

Lily ran her fingers through the artificial hair, gingerly untangling the soft light strands. She drew her index finger over its cold cheek, tracing the key features of the sculpted face. The poufy layered dress wrapping its body fell over her arms, gently tickling her skin.

"It's beautiful." she brushed her pinky over the soft eyelashes, enjoying the tingling sensation if gave her.

"Isn't it just?" Lily looked up from her gift to see Louis, his head placed upon his knuckles and his eyes warmly looking upon the figure in her hands. "I found it when I was strolling through a crowded plaza, and when I saw it in a store window I just had to get it for you." He continued, reaching out across the long bench and stroking the fragile dolls curly hair. "The resemblance is truly uncanny."

"That's what you always say." Lily smiled, turning her face away from the lovely toy and up to Louis.

"Perhaps, but this one has your hair." He stroked the doll again, fingering the perfect curls that fell around its dainty face. They were situated in a rather small room, you could call it a meeting room of sorts. The two of them ended up there after Louis suggested he speak with Lily alone, wanting her to see the doll without the presence of watchful and judgmental eyes.

"I wish Serena had given us time," Lily began, her eyes now on Louis' hands, "so that I could have brought the others with me." She twirled the white ribbon atop the dolls flat bodice as she continued, "but at least I have this one now. Thank you so much Louis." Her lips curved into a great smile as she fell onto his chest, the doll getting nestled between them as they hugged.

As she lifted herself off of him, Louis remembered something, signaling with his finger for her to give him a moment. He reached his arm across the bench they were currently sitting upon, and dug his hand into his old leather bag. The discolored patches sewed on in multiple areas portrayed its years of faithful service. After a few moments of rummaging through the array of unseen items within, Louis pulled out two pastel pink hair bows. One human sized and one doll sized.

"It's said," he began, holding up the larger bow to the light, "that pink contrasts wonderfully with yellow hair."

He brought his hand down and placed the accessory onto her head, furrowing his eyebrows as if trying to decide whether or not he liked it there.

"How does it look?" Lily giggled, rubbing her fingers over the soft material.

"Lovely." Louis motioned for her to turn around as he tied the long bow into her hair. He brought small handfuls of curls from either side of her head together and carefully tied the bow around the cluster of hair.

Upon feeling the slight pull on her scalp cease, Lily placed her hand over the large loops and excess ribbon, content that it was aligned correctly. She turned her head back around to face Louis, who had already begun creating the same style on her new doll.

Once he was satisfactorily finished, he examined his work, darting his eyes from it to Lily and then back to the toy.

"I know I've said this already," he smirked slightly as he handed the doll back to her, "but the resemblance is truly uncanny."

* * *

"And that is why us mice really are the best secret weapon you can have. Were like a splinter, you could say. We may be small, but we pack a might punch! But furthermore-"

"Hold up." Edmund put his hand up to stop the mouse's ranting, the little whiskers around the furry animal's mouth twitching as he was silenced. Even though all these talks of splinters were truly fascinating, Edmund did not quiet the small mouse for that reason.

He halted Reepicheep's speech because he saw his brother standing anxiously by a doorway, his face buried in a book. Now Peter was, Edmund sourly admitted, a fairly intelligent young man, but it wasn't exactly like him to be flipping through the pages of literature in his free time.

Edmund said a quiet "give me a second" to the mouse, which was returned with a gracious bow, and made his way towards his brother.

He walked up to his the blonde boy's side and poked his stiff shoulder, attempting to get his attention. But when he did not respond, he poked him again, harder this time, and omitted an aggravated "Peter!"

Peter tore himself away from the text and responded with an angry, "yes?"

"What are you reading?" Edmund inquired, peering over his brother's arm in a vain attempt to see the contents inside.

"None of your business," Peter hastily replied as he sharply shut his book, almost catching Edmund's hand in the process. He then proceeded to walk away, barely even giving his brother a chance to react, as he pretended to be in a dire need for a conversation with Glenstorm, who had been conveniently passing by. As he left the area, Edmund could have sworn he read the word "Monarchs" on the cover Peter had partially concealed under his arm. He quietly scoffed at the idea of Peter undoubtedly reading a book about himself, before turning his attentions back to Reepicheep, who was still standing with is little head pointed to the sky, awaiting the young kings return.

* * *

Lily sat quietly upon an old stone bench, one that was comparable to all the other crude stone benches within the vast How. Louis had only a few minutes ago left her side, stating his great desire to speak with her sister, promptly leaving her alone with a lovely doll cradled in her arms. She daintily ran her fingers over the doll's faint features, as she had been doing since receiving it. Every so often she would retract her hand to her own face, gently tracing her own features as to figure out why she was so often told of their similarity. Her right index finger was in the middle of gliding itself down the slope of her nose, when she heard someone's footsteps coming down the hallway. She quickly placed her hand back onto her lap, and checked to see who was coming.

Out of the hallway entered a tall blonde boy, his masculine attributes hidden within the pages of a old book. He had managed to walk into the room, lean against a wall, and proceed to slide down it, before even realizing she was in there.

"Oh!" He gave with a start after looking up to see her staring intensely at him, her big blue eyes getting increasingly round. "I'm sorry I didn't see you there."

He closed his book, being sure to fold over the top right corner of his current page before doing so, and walked over to where she was sitting, seating himself on the bench next to hers.

"What are you reading?" She asked him, glancing over his arm to get a look at the book on his lap. Her voice was uncharacteristically mouse-like.

He tilted the book in her direction, showing her the slightly worn golden letters which spelled out the words "The Young Monarchs of The Golden Age." She ran her fingers over the cover, the leather binding feeling funny against her skin.

"Why are you reading that?" She asked, unconsciously moving her doll farther and farther away from him.

"Well," he began, his familiar British accent gracing his words, "I was out sitting on a ledge earlier this afternoon, and I found it lying there and-"

"A ledge? Why would it be on a ledge?" Lily questioned, a spike of interest appearing in her tone. It wasn't like the conversation was actually all that captivating, but it wasn't very often that books just appeared on extended rocks out of nowhere.

Peter chuckled a bit, his eyes inadvertently fixed on the object in his hands. "Well, I'm supposing your sister left it out there; she had been reading when I found her." The way he stated this informed Lily that he did not suppose, but rather, he knew that Serena had been reading this book when he found her. Which raised up another question in her mind.

"Why were you looking for her?" The last words got progressively higher, and ended in an unintentional squeak, which she awkwardly coughed off.

"I wanted to ask her some questions." His voice became faint, and he had his eyes glued to the large lettering of his book, watching as his fingers traced over the intricate writing.

Lily straightened her back, her voice returning to its normal volume. "What kind of questions?"

She watched Peter intently as he fidgeted uncomfortably, obviously trying to come up with something to say, whilst still not meeting her eyes. She narrowed hers slightly, as she realized what they must have been.

"You asked her questions about Louis, didn't you?" She spoke as level as she could, but she could not keep all hurt and anger from seeping into her voice.

Peter looked up to her, facing her for the first time since he had entered the small room. His blue eyes were big, full of apologetic feelings he could not restrain.

"Look Lily, it's not what you think-"

"Whatever she said about him, it's not true." Lily found her eyes getting damper as she spoke, the little patches of skin underneath them beginning to redden.

"What do you mean?"

"My sister's a big liar, she hates Louis. She probably told you a ton of awful lies about him." Peter blinked, shocked by her random outburst, and the immature anger she had attached to it.

Lily looked away from him, slowly composing herself. He figured that she didn't want to become to overly angry at him, which he could understand.

A few moments passed before she turned her now relatively calm face back to him.

"Don't believe everything my sister tells you, because, if you can't already tell, she's not very fond of you either. So it would be pretty stupid to think that she's actually telling you, or would even want to tell you the truth."

And with that she stood herself up, and left the room quickly and quietly. She never once looked back at Peter, who stared blankly at the hallway she had disappeared into. He thought about what she had just said, feeling an odd sense of disappointment. He didn't want to think too much on it, yet he could not stop himself from replaying his conversation with Serena in his head. It began to dawn on him how different and out of character she had been acting. How the way she had spoken to him then was so different from any other time they had ever had conversed. He began wondering why such a change had occurred. Perhaps he couldn't trust her, but a large part of him really wanted to.

He tried to suppress the idea in his mind as his hands found the covers of his book, sliding themselves over the side to find the page he had indented a few minutes prior, opening slowly to that page. But, as he turned his eyes back to the text, he found himself laying them upon a certain lavishly dressed doll seated only a few feet away from him.

He reached towards the vast amount of fabric, carefully pulling the delicate toy towards him in one slow sweeping movement. The doll's face stuck out like a green thumb. He studied it with intense eyes, never once thinking on the strange reason of why it was randomly next to him, but more so on the fact that it looked exactly like the young girl that had previously been sitting there.

He ran his hand over the dolls pale face, the ceramic texture chilling his fingers ever-so-slightly. He flipped the doll over to examine the faintly colored bow in its hair, vaguely recalling a very similar one in Lily's, as he heard a familiar smooth voice.

"Now, I sure do hope that's not yours."

Peter looked up to see the shape of a tall, pony-tailed man leaning against the doorway. A small smile danced on his lips as he awaited the boy's reaction.

"No, I just found it here." Peter stated, a bit more defensively then would have been expected, causing Louis to chuckle.

"Hmm, I know. Because, I would have known if it was yours, since I am the one who brought it here. And I certainly did not give it to you."

He chuckled again, Peter's pupils moving to the top of his eyes as he removed his hand from the doll.

"In case you were wondering, I gave it to Lily." Louis continued, as he walked towards the blonde boy, his gate even and oddly graceful.

Peter nodded slowly as his eyes diverted back to the doll's face, its appearance still demanding his attention.

Louis followed his gaze, as he sat down. "The resemblance is scary isn't it? It seems as though someone created this doll especially in Lily's likeness. Whenever I see one like this I always bring it home with me. And believe me there are many." His voice trailed off as he fingered the dolls blonde hair gently, his eyes filled with an unusual sort of remorse.

Peter kept his eyes low, not quite in the mood to talk with the man he had so recently been outraged with.

Louis, seeming to read Peter's mind, stated,

"I apologize if my sense of humor ever…gets on your nerves." A certain twinkle passed through his eye as Peter flickered his up.

"I just don't like it when people refuse to answer questions. That's all," Peter replied very flatly, mindlessly stroking the doll's soft hair.

Louis chuckled softly, a chuckle that, Peter came to realize, was often followed with a seemingly witty piece of advice.

"But, wouldn't life be boring without questions? If we knew everything about everyone, then they wouldn't be interesting." Louis' eyes brightened slightly as he added, "Think of how less interested you would be in people if they were so easy to figure out." He added a subtle wink as he finished, which was received with a perplexed twitch from Peter, who was still running his fingers over the doll's light locks.

"Now, I'm sorry to tell you this, but you're going to have to stop petting that lovely doll because its rightful owner will probably be missing it." Peter awkwardly released the toy as Louis scooped it up in his hands, holding it in his arms like he would a child as he stood up.

"Now, I must be on my way, I have an appointment with one loud mouthed blonde haired young lady that I do not intend on missing." He tipped his head slightly towards Peter as he started to leave the room. Stalling, however, with a slight turn of his head, to add,

"Now, I know you are a very proud King, Peter. But don't you think reading a book about yourself is a bit much?" He winked a glittering eye before proceeding to exit the room, his lips twitching into a very faint smile.

Peter looked down at the brown book lying in his hands, still open to the page he had left off at. He attempted to ignore what Louis had said as he glanced down at the black and white paper, gliding his finger over the words to find the sentence he had ended with. However, he couldn't help but feel his face getting uncomfortably hot as he found the line, and returned to the reading he had been so anxious to continue.

* * *

**Yay chapter 8! Sorry it's so short and kind of drabbly, but I wanted something like it to come in between larger scenes so there ya go :)**

**So what do you think? Like it? Hate it? What did you like/hate? Tell me! Cuz reviews are great inspiration to write :D **


	9. Hands, Cures, and Changes

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN CoN ONLY MY OWN CHARACTERS! **

**A/N: So this chapter ended up being just as short as the last one...sorry! But I know for a fact that the next one will be longer ;) But anyways I enjoyed writing this one and I hope you all like it! And I would just like thank all who have reviewed :D

* * *

**Edmund, who was currently unaccompanied as he strolled down a long corridor, was never incredibly clumsy. True, his balance was not entirely perfect, but he could usually manage to stay put upon his own two feet. However, when someone whose manner of walking is comparable to an angry gust of wind hits you square on the stomach, you tend to fall down. Oh the joys of gravity.

Edmund let out an _oomf_ as he plummeted to the floor, a human shaped weight on top of his chest. The sharp pain of hitting the rocky ground echoed through his abdomen, leaving him unable to breath for a few moments.

As he regained his ability to intake oxygen, he tilted his head upward, slightly craning his neck, to see a big mess of blonde curls. Although partially covered by her hair, which was currently coming out of her lazy hairdo, he recognized the perturbed and irritated face.

Lily, for that's whose face it was, widened her eyes as she saw realized whom she had fallen on. "I am so sorry Edmund!" Her voice was breathy but whiny, like the way one sounds after having an awful day. A few strands of hair were pushed behind her ears as she slid herself off of him, careful not to dig her fingers into his flesh.

The boy slowly pulled himself up. "It's fine, it was my fault."

Lily had not yet made an attempt to move from her knees, her eyes oddly glazed over in thought. The hair atop her head had become slightly tousled, one long strand swept awkwardly across her face. She attempted to blow it away as Edmund knelt down to her. "Are you ok?"

She blinked and looked up to him, using her fingers to remove the hair. "Yeah, I just got winded. Sorry about that." She smiled slightly as he offered to help her up.

"It's ok."

She took his hand. His skin felt mildly course against hers, but nice at the same time. The sight of his cool fingers rapping around her own made her feel oddly small and fragile. Her eyes were glued on them as he pulled her to her feet.

She fell slightly forward as her body came to a standing, leaning itself towards Edmund's chest for a split second before leaning back.

"Thanks." Her hand slipped out of is.

* * *

Serena ran her long fingers over the rock walls, the rough and jagged texture feeling wonderfully foreign against her skin. Her pale knuckles softly bounced as she drew her hand over each incoherent bump, losing herself in her thoughts.

There was nothing she would not do to have a normal life, a simple life. An existence where she could be an average girl with an average family; that was all she ever truly wanted. But her life was like this rock wall was, bumpy and crudely made. The leering sense of overwhelming sadness slowly began to envelop her heart as she walked down the long hallway, absentmindedly feeling the things around her. As much as she wished she could believe it, something was never quite satisfying about the world she lived in, nothing made sense in the slightest, and she feared it never would.

The dim light radiating from the wooden torches situated above her head warmed her cold body as a familiar deep voice emerged from behind her.

"You've changed, my dear." His words were slow and thoughtful, "So quickly too, sometimes I worry you have a confused mind. It is not usual that I find it extremely hard to tell what you are feeling." Serena turned her body to face the lanky man, his bony fingers stroking the fair curls of a porcelain doll. His stature had changed substantially since she had last seen him. He was never that joking fun-loving man when he was with her. And although it may have just been due to the faint light illuminating him, Serena could almost swear that the bags under his eyes had darkened, showing the tired man he truly was. She found that the corners of her mouth twitched at the intense irony of his comment, but frowned as she thought it over.

"Why must everyone know what I'm feeling? Why can't I keep my emotions to myself?" Her voice was almost monotonic, the answer already floating through her head.

Louis untied the silky pink ribbon that had been holding the doll's blonde hair, letting the manufactured curls fall over its pretty face. "Because the world is not perfect." He placed the fragile doll gently on the ground before taking a few strides towards her, his eyes still transfixed on the pink bow. "I know of all the hardships the world contains sweet Serena." He continued as he neared the girl, her hand still gently pressing into the rock wall. "However, throughout all of these hardships," he drew the ribbon to the side of her face, the soft silk rubbing against her cheek. "Emotions are the few things that make it worth living in." He pulled the ribbon under her hair, loosely tying it in a small bow around her pale neck.

No sooner had he had it go, did she bring her fingers to the soft material, and pulled the loose string from its knot, unraveling the bow and pulling the ribbon off her body. She placed the long pink cloth into his palm as she said, "You know I don't like you getting Lily dolls." A splurge of venom passed through her voice as Louis retracted his hand to his chest, a defeated sigh escaping his lips.

"Funny you should mention Lily" he began softly, ignoring her comment, and stepping backward a few feet to retrieve the doll, "because I found something on my travels that may be able to help her." He unfurled the long ribbon from his hand and tied up the doll's blonde locks once again, watching out of the corner of his eye as Serena's face grew uncharacteristically interested.

* * *

"So where's Louis?" The dark-haired boy asked the light-haired girl, the two of them walking through the multiple rooms and hallways located in the How. Neither of them knew exactly where they were headed, but the idea of stopping had yet to pass through their minds.

"He said he wanted to talk to Serena." The girl responded; her hands attached to her head as she fixed the pink material tied in it. The origins of the bow being what sparked Louis' name to enter their conversation. "I dunno, he just randomly said he had to speak with her and left."

"He's a strange bloke, he is." Edmund let out a soft, deep chuckle.

"That's the truth." Lily added quietly, gently flattening out her hair before returning her hands to her sides.

"Hey, can I ask you another question?" Edmund asked with a certain deliberate discretion. Ever since Louis had arrived he had begun to feel more and more distant from Lily. True, he remembered, they had met only two days before, but over those two days he felt they had shared a truly great friendship. He figured that perhaps it was simply the honeymoon phase of their acquaintanceship, and that now they had come to the stage where they were simply platonic buddies. Nevertheless, he found himself asking her questions more carefully, sure not to scare her away.

"What is it?"

"Well I was just wondering; why are you so attached to him? I mean, I know he's your father figure and everything, but you seem to really _love_ him. And, not to sound intruding or anything, but why is that?"

She flicked her eyes to the lightly freckled boy before replying with another question, "Why did you hate the white witch?"

Edmund, who had been running his fingers through his dark hair, paused mid run and placed his hand on his chin. "Um, well she was evil. And… you know I could list a bunch of other things that you probably don't want to hear, but that's beside the point. You didn't answer my question."

"Yes, because you just did." Edmund halted his walking, his eyebrows furrowing with confusion. He turned to her, "care to explain?"

"Well, as you just said, you could give me a whole long speech about exactly why you hated the white witch, but when it all comes down to it; you just did. It's the same thing with me you could say. I mean, I could give you a million reasons as to why I love Louis, but at the end of the day my answer would just end up being: I just do." She turned her eyes up to see Edmund, who had unconsciously begun walking again, running his fingers through his hair once more, this time getting all the way to the back of his neck as a certain smile appeared on his face.

"Are you sure he's not your father?" He said to her after a moment, the light joyfulness of face like a breath of unbelievably fresh air.

Lily smiled brightly and replied, a slight giggle on her breath. "Positive."

* * *

"So a few weeks ago I was at a library, when I happened upon a book that I found exceedingly interesting," the gray eyed man began, pacing himself in such a way that required an irritating amount of patience from the young girl accompanying him. He paused for a second and flickered his eyes to her, half expecting her to ask him a question. When she didn't, he continued, "It was a relatively small book, but nonetheless it contained something that surprised me."

He gave her another look, this one greeted by a head nod signaling him to go on. He shifted the doll currently in his right arm to his left, as he said, "Well, it told of a potion, and elixir of sorts that has been known to cure Armorska."

Serena's eyes grew wide, "Wait you mean, completely treat it?"

"That's what it says."

"Well then, how do we make it?" Her voice was a mix of excitement and urgency.

Louis sighed, "That's the thing, our situation isn't very common. Normally faeries with Amorska obtain it after the death of a loved one-"

"So what are you saying?" A coldness branding her words now.

"That one of the ingredients, the main ingredient actually, is the blood of said dead loved one." His voice got quieter as he said the last words.

Serena closed her eyes and lowered her head.

"I'm sorry, if-"

"Why would you tell me this?" Familiar venom spewed from her concealed lips.

Louis sighed again, completely expecting her hateful feelings, "Because you never know if you might need it, and I mean-"

She stopped walking. "Are you trying to tell me you're not coming back next time?" Her tone was full of more horror than actual anger.

Louis ceased his movement and looked at her, the familiar flash in his eyes gone, "Well-"

"Louis!"

The two turned to see the face of a particularly frantic girl running towards them. They both managed to make their faces as calm as possible, for her sake.

"Louis, I've been looking for that doll everywhere!" She stated, slightly out of breath, but extremely happy.

"Ain't that the truth!" The two looked up to see Edmund following behind her, in taking large amounts of air slowly as he finally caught up with her. She laughed softly before turning back to them.

"Where was it?"

Louis, who had thought she yelled his name out of her usual pure joy of seeing him, not to get her doll back, replied, "Why you left it on the bench next to Peter. He actually seemed pretty smitten with the thing." Louis chuckled as he handed the delicate toy back to Lily. "Perhaps," he added to Edmund, who had just joined his friend's side, "you should consider buying him one for Christmas."

Edmund let out a laugh, and spoke with a mocking seriousness, "Oh yes, I think that is a fine idea."

All but Serena laughed at this, her face remaining blank, but her eyes portraying a certain sadness that did not go unnoticed by her sister.

"Are you all right Serena?" The older girl raised her eyebrows, as if being taken out of a deep thought, and responded, "Hmm? Yeah I'm fine." She managed to curve her lips into a small smile.

Lily gave her a slightly disbelieving look, but decided to ignore it for now. She turned to Edmund and suggested they go and watch the mice's sword practice, which is what they had been planning to do before she realized she was missing her doll, and left with him, giving Louis and Serena a merry wave goodbye.

"Wow, she's changed." Louis stated once she was out of sight, his familiar chuckle filling the small hallway as he placed his hand on his chin.

Serena looked to the tall man, his shoulder meeting just below the top of her head. "What do you mean?"

"Well," he began, flicking his arm out to where she had just been standing, "about a little over an hour ago I saw her running down a hallway looking rather upset. Her hair was becoming all tousled in the cute way it does when she is troubled. "He added in an amused laugh before continuing, "And now look, she's as happy as a clam."

"Why do you think that is?" Serena asked quietly, almost like she was asking it to herself.

Louis tried to suppress a smile, "Well it might have something to do with that young, debonair, dark haired boy she seems to have connected with. I'm supposing the witty young man managed to cheer our dear Lily up."

Serena furrowed her eyebrows, facing the area Louis had been gesturing at. "Yeah I guess so." She couldn't help but smile slightly at this idea. In the corner of her mind she couldn't help but think that maybe in due time her sister would come to love Edmund more than Louis.

"Wait," her smile faded as she turned her head up the slightly tan man, "Why was she upset?"

"Well, I believe it may have something to do with your connection."

"What?" Her eyebrows softened into a generally confused face.

"The other young, debonair, though in this case light haired, king of Narnia. Didn't you guys have a nice chat this afternoon."

Serena's face turned back to normal as she realized what he meant, although slightly confused as to how he could have known that. "Yes we did have a chat of sorts, but I don't see how that even remotely means we have a connection." She added a strong hint of sarcasm to the last word.

Louis chuckled, "Hmm, nonetheless I believe he said something mildly insulting about me to Lily. Or perhaps something that implied you and said something bad about me." He raised an eyebrow to the girl next to him, her face lowering itself as he did. "Care to explain what your chat was about?"

Serena kept her eyes down, "he asked me why I didn't like you."

"And you told him, are you sure this boy hasn't made an impression on you?" Louis chuckled again, knowing very well how much he was irritating her.

She raised her eyes. "No I didn't just _tell_ him. I made him tell me why they left Narnia," she added, a gleam passed through Louis' eyes. "Bargaining, smart girl."

"And I didn't tell him much, just the basics." She finished, ignoring his comment.

Louis sighed, though it wasn't a negative sigh. "Well I'm guessing he told her what you said and she got upset. She is sensitive about such things you know."

Serena rolled her eyes, "Oh, I know."

"But, I must say, I don't think you dislike me as much as you say you do. " He added; that sparkle once again embedded in his eyeball.

She scoffed, "What makes you think that?"

"Well for one thing," he started, a smile once again appearing on his thin lips, "You just told me what you did today." He chuckled, looking down at Serena's face. The poor girl could not seem to come up with a witty response; she just stood there with her mouth stupidly hanging open. However, luckily for her, a familiar light haired queen turned the corner.

"Serena, Louis come now! We're having an urgent meeting!" Lucy yelled running up to them, her face making it clear how important what she was saying was.

The two followed the pressed girl ahead of them, Louis childishly stating as they walked quickly along the dim hallways, "Ooh I do believe this is the most exciting thing to happen all day."

* * *

**A/N: Yay! chapter 9 is done! I really hope you all liked it!**

**P.S. Reviews are greatly appreciated :D**


	10. Books, Dawn, and Lessons pt 1

***DISCLAIMER I DO NOT OWN CoN ONLY MY OWN CHARACTERS!**

**So here's chapter 10! yay it's the longest chapter I've written so far! I wish I could so more but there's really nothing left to say so...ENJOY! :D

* * *

**"It's only a matter of time until Miraz's men and war machines come this way. That means those same men, aren't protecting his castle." The blonde boy proudly projected his voice to fill the entire stone room populated with eager Narnians, listening intently to the boy's every word. Upon hearing a report that a faun named Nausus had seen a Telmarine soldier on the edge of the meadow, Peter decided it was a good time to get battle strategies ready.

"What do you suppose we do your majesty?" Peter turned to see the furry face of Reepicheep upon his hind legs, his face fraught with wonder.

"We have to start planning for-" was all that could really be understood, as Peter and Caspian spoke simultaneously. Peter turned to Caspian and gave him a look, clearly telling the tan man to respect his superiors. Caspian unwillingly looked away, signaling the young king to resume what he was going to say.

"We need to strike them, before they strike us."

"But that's crazy no one has ever taken that castle!" Caspian interrupted, looking at the blonde boy like he was mad.

Peter shrugged his shoulders, "There's always a first time."

"We'll have the element of surprise." Trumpkin added, stepping behind Peter.

"You know, I've always found it very weird that they call surprise an 'element.' It is definitely not a mineral of this earth."

Serena rolled her eyes at Louis' inquiry, which he had whispered to only her. The two of them were standing by a large column, the two arguing boys about 5 feet away.

"But we have the advantage _here_." Caspian resumed, pleading with Peter.

"If we dig in we could probably hold them off indefinitely." Susan added, hoping to strengthen Caspian's idea. The boy gave her a look of gratitude, whilst Peter gave her a glare.

"I do believe they may like each other." Louis said under his breath, motioning towards Susan and Caspian.

"Only you could find love in wartime." Serena answered, a gleam passing through Louis eyes.

"I, for one, feel safer underground." The large badger inserted, though his comment seemed to go largely ignored.

"I agree with you good badger."

"No you don't." Serena answered flatly, though the corners of her mouth were beginning to curve up.

"Look, I appreciate what you've done here," Peter began to Caspian, his sugared voice aggravating the Prince, "But this isn't a fortress, It's a tomb."

"Yes, and if we stay here the Telmarines will just wait and starve us out." Edmund added, agreeing with his brother. Next to Edmund, sat Lily, her eyes attached the conversation at hand.

"We can always collect nuts!" Suggested a chestnut colored squirrel, his cheery disposition crumbling when Reepicheep responded sarcastically, "Yes, and throw them at the Temarines! Shut up!" The mouse then turned to Peter, proud stance in toe, "You know where I stand sire."

"Yes, upon that rock bench, with that poor squirrel whose idea I believe to be amazing."

"What did you say!" Louis blinked as the mouse addressed him, taken off guard by the animal's acute sense of hearing.

Louis composed himself quickly, and chuckled. "All I am saying is that nuts are an incredibly good source of food good mouse, and that I too would aptly stand by the side of High King Peter, whatever his decision be." He added a slight bow of his head, his eyes brighter than ever.

Peter gave him a nod before turning to Glenstorm, his now appointed right-hand man.

"I'm amazed at you." Serena told Louis as he returned to her side. Louis smiled, "What, you don't want to help too?" There was a shimmer in his iris as her slight smile shrank.

"If I get your troops in, can you handle the guards?"

Everyone now solemnly looked at Peter and the Centaur, both excited for and dreading his answer.

Glenstorm looked to be feeling slightly doubtful of his king's idea, but his honorable character came before anything. "Or die trying, my liege."

"That's what I'm worried about." A small, yet uncharacteristically solemn voice emerged behind Peter.

The boy turned around to see Lucy sitting of the stone table, her normal cheery expression gone from sight.

"Sorry?"

"Well your all acting like there's only two options. Dying here. Or dying there."

"I'm not sure you've really been listening Lu-"

"No you're not listening," Lucy raised her voice, "or have you forgotten who really defeated the White Witch Peter?"

The boy's mouth frowned so hard at this that it looked like he was in pain. "I think we've waited for Aslan long enough."

He then turned and walked out of the fire-lit room, leaving everyone inside immensely confused and unsure about what exactly was going on.

"Well that wasn't very climactic."

* * *

Peter didn't like leaving meeting's that abruptly, but he feared his anger would take over. The dimly lit hall he trudged down was not nearly dark enough to hide the pain in his face. The meeting had been dismissed and he could hear people coming down the hallway behind him. The great wish to be alone began seeping through his body, but since he was, in fact, the King, that was not likely to happen. His hopes were crushed quicker then he thought they would be, when he felt a small tap on his back.

"I'm going with you." Peter turned around slowly to acknowledge the girl behind him.

"What?"

"I want to join you on your raid. I'll be able to help," She added, as the tall man walked up beside her. After Peter had stormed out Louis had convinced her to offer him her military assistance. Of course, it was not completely undesired by her as well.

Peter smiled, though it was not in the least bit warm. "Look, I get that you want to help out, but I don't think that watching clothing is a particularily good resume-"

"That's not what I meant." Serena stated coldly, his stupid sarcasm getting to her.

"It doesn't matter what you meant, I don't want to be responsible for your death."

Serena's eyes narrowed to slits. "I'm perfectly capable of keeping myself alive."

"It's true," Louis jumped in, "I have taught her some of the many fighting techniques that I have picked up over my travels, which is also why, you can trust me 100 percent as a worthy soldier." His random burst of pride did not stop Serena from giving him a horrified look, as Peter replied,

"Oh that's good to know about you, but have you really taught her all you know?" His intonation was a mix of doubt and interest.

Louis coughed slightly, "yes, but I have to tell you I don't think she's practiced lately, she could probably use some lessons. You know, just to refresh her memory." He put an encouraging hand on Serena's shoulder, her eyes staring up to him in disbelief.

"What are you suggesting?" Peter asked slowly.

A sparkly entered Louis' eye. "Well do you think you could teach her? I'm sure a powerful King such as yourself would really be the best fit."

Serena giving Louis angrily wide eyes, as Peter thought about this for a few moments. Finally replying,

"Fine. At dawn. In the field. I'll bring the swords." His voice was incredibly flat but there were a few icy cuts dancing in it. "This doesn't mean you'll be joining us though." He added, looking at Serena for a split second before walking quickly down the hallway, most likely to find his siblings, his dream of having a moment alone fleeing from his brain.

Once he was out of earshot, Serena turned to Louis, fury stuck on her face.

"Why in the world would you say that?" She said in an angry whisper. "You gave me one sword fighting lesson. And that was 2 years ago. And we used poles!" Her eyes went large as he chuckled.

"Well then I guess you really do need the lessons. I mean, did you really expect to be able to show up at the raid and just be able to fight? Even you aren't that amazing." He pet her blonde head and she was silenced, realizing that he was right.

"But still, he's gonna expect me to be at least somewhat good. I also have to be somewhat good." She added, fearing what would happen if she showed up and was a complete failure, as she removed his hand from her scalp.

"Well then, you might want to read up then." He stuck his hand inside his loose vest and pulled out a small old book. He handed the tattered leather to her, her eyes looking at it with skepticism.

"A book?"

"Not just any book, I bought this book from a merchant who taught soldiers in his younger days. He said that reading it will, and I quote, 'fill you with an incredible knowledge of the fighting arts.'" She continued to look at him like he was fanatical.

"Why, on Earth, do you have this Louis? How do you have enough money to buy all this stuff?" It was plain as day that she was aggravated with this man, but at the same time an odd surge of relief passed through her body.

He chuckled again, "Well, one, I have it because you never know when it might be needed, and two, I have my ways of obtaining currency." A shimmer passed through his eyes as he continued, "But anyways read up, you won't want to disappoint a king now would you?"

He smiled brightly as he walked by her, probably off to share his witty wisdom with someone else.

Serena stared at the book in her hand. "Louis you are unbelievable," she whispered to herself. She flipped through the old pages nimbly until she found a chapter she liked, earmarking it for later reading.

* * *

The rooms, bedrooms actually, that the children (plus Louis) were to be sleeping in were relatively well put together. Originally 5 rooms had been created, (upon hearing the arrival of their kings and queens the Narnians converted 5 rooms into sleeping quarters) one for each Pevensie and one for Caspian, but given the 3 additional people that had unexpectedly joined the group, Caspian insisted that they share. So, the only couplings that made sense, were Susan and Lucy, Peter and Edmund, and Serena and Lily; leaving Caspian and Louis to have a room to themselves. No one argued this, since it would have been awkward any other way, being that each room only contained one king sized bed.

The rooms were made to look as nice as humanly, or technically narnianly, possible. The beds were covered in beautifully intricate stitching, most likely crafted by the centaur women residing in the How. However, besides the bed's there was really nothing more than a medium sized bureau, a broom, and a bed stand, complete with wax candle stick on top.

After completing their dinner, which was pretty much exactly the same as their lunch had been, everyone retired to bed, though just because they went to their bedrooms, did not mean they went to sleep.

_Chapter 3 Sword Fighting_ Serena ran her fingers over the chapter name, shaping the windy letters that made each word. The book was clearly older then Louis had made it out to be, for the pages were slightly yellowing and the binding was close to falling apart. Nonetheless, Serena sat in her bed, reading under the glow of the candle.

The book was really like none she had ever read. The descriptions of each fighting pose were detailed with such lengthy amounts of description that it was incredible to think it could all fit within the small book.

The first section told of the proper positioning of your hands on your weapon, down to the exact location of your pinky finger. She used the small broom in the corner as her makeshift sword. The second told of stances, even listing the precise angles in which your body should be placed. The third and fourth told of offensive and defensive moves. She acted out each pose quietly with her broom sword in hand, careful not to hurt herself in the process.

The last, and the longest section, told of mentalities one should have when sword fighting. The author spoke so passionately about how one should feel and think during a fight that Serena couldn't help but believe every word he had written. As she continued to read the instructive book, her legs crossed neatly upon the bed, Lily walked in, an unreadable expression on her face, and puffed a sigh of exhaustion.

"You ok?" Serena asked, closing her book over her hand.

Lily looked up, startled a bit by her sister's presence, forgetting she was in there. "Oh, yeah I'm fine." She proceeded to remove all her jewelry, save for one necklace, bracelet and ring, and placed them neatly by her sister's on the dresser.

Serena watched her with knowing eyes. "Where were you?"

"With Edmund, he was telling me about his battle against the white witch." She ran her fingers through her hair, feeling in desperate need of a hairbrush.

Serena narrowed her eyes slightly, though not angrily. "Why was that?"

"I wanted to know," she paused taking her doll of the bureau and proceeding to sit on the bed next to her sister. "I wanted to know if we could really beat the Telmarines."

Serena's eyes softened, the worried look in her sister's eyes pulling at her heart. Lily had always been a massive pacifist; even the idea of killing an ant would send her into hysterics when she was younger. And although she can now deal with the death of a small insect, the same feelings remained.

Serena folded over the top right hand corner of her page and closed her book, setting it down gently on the bedside table. She placed a soft hand on the side of her sister's head.

"We'll be fine, I promise."

Lily's eyes widened as she pulled her head away. "We? You mean you're going to?"

Serena dropped her hand and nodded, her eyes off Lily's face.

"Serena, since when are you capable of fighting in a battle?" Horror, confusion, and a bit of humor were entwined in her words as she stared intensely at her sister, waiting anxiously for a reply.

"Well, Peter's going to give me lesson's tomorrow and Louis," she reached over to the bed stand, picking up the leather bound object laying there, "gave me this book about fighting. It really is amazingly detailed and I think it might actually-"

"The raid is tomorrow! Do you really think you will be ready after one day of lesson's and reading a book?" Lily flicked the book so hard that fell out of Serena's hands. "Why do you think you can do all this?" Her eyes were beginning to redden as anger protruded her features.

Serena sighed and stood up to retrieve the book, which had landed, pages open, on the floor.

"I want to help, and I know I can."

"Why do you think you can? We're faeries for Aslan's sake! The only reason I'm not terrified about Louis going is because-"

"Lily!" Serena screamed in a voice that made the smaller girl stop in her tracks. "I never want to hear you say that again! Listen, we are barely even considered faeries, you know that. And even if we were, I don't want you ever thinking that it's something that holds us back." She managed to calm herself as she returned to her spot on the bed.

Lily quietly shook her head, a small water droplet welling up in the corner of her eye, "be that as it may, proving that your worth something does not do anyone any good if you're dead." Her words were hate filled but her eyes showed the true sadness inside of her. "I could still die without you." She choked on her words, the beginnings of tears streaming down her pale face.

Serena's eyes softened as a pain erupted in the back of her throat, the pain one gets when crying is on its way. In the deep recesses of her heart, the small black area which contains the sins every human possesses, she wished her sister would die if she were to. Well, in all actuality, she did not wish harm upon her sibling, but the lighter area of her heart still scorned this horribly selfish wish of hers.

She reached towards Lily and pulled the small girl into her arms, stroking her blonde head in a soft rhythmic movement.

"I'll be fine, I promise." She swallowed back her impending tears as she comforted her sister, determined to keep her promise as best she could.

* * *

"Pete, do you remember our first battle?" Edmund threw a rock to his brother as he awaited his reply.

"Against the white witch?" Peter asked, catching the stone in his hand.

Edmund nodded as the rock was thrown back in his direction.

"Of course I do, why do you ask?"

"Well," Edmund began, tossing the object back to his brother, continuing their lazy game of catch. "I was talking about it with Lily earlier, I'm guessing the whole talk of night raids has got her startled, but it made me realize how vividly I remember it, like it was yesterday actually."

"Yeah I suppose," Peter replied quietly, twirling the rock absentmindedly around in his hand, before throwing it back. "Is Lily insisting on joining us too?"

Edmund couldn't help but laugh, "That's a finny joke Pete. I don't think she's capable of hurting a fly nevertheless a Telmarine." He tossed the stone out of his hand before continuing, "I hear Serena wants to go though."

Peter caught the rock and sighed, "Yes, I mean I'm fine with Louis going, he seems like he can hold his own weight, but her," his voice quieted slightly, "I'm not so sure about her."

Peter clasped his hand around the rock, his voice rising once again. "Did you notice how eerily similar Lily looks to that doll she's been carrying around?"

Edmund furrowed his eyebrows quickly in thought before responding, "yes, yes I did. It's weird isn't it?"

Peter nodded before unclasping his hand and throwing the rock again to Edmund. "Yeah. Ed, do you remember that story Lucy read? Back when we were in Cair?"

Edmund chuckled, "She reads a lot of stories Pete."

"I mean the one that talked about the origins of dolls." He caught the rock as Edmund replied,

"Now that you mention it, I do remember that. Didn't it say that there's some kind half-faerie people that looked like them? To be honest I think that was just some silly fairytale Lucy was reading during her doll phase." He chuckled at his sister's girly nature, as Peter replied, slowly,

"Yes, possibly. But, say it was true, do you think, that maybe they could be, _could_ be… part faerie?" He tossed the rock back to Edmund, who caught it, but did not make any indication that he would be throwing it back.

"Peter, don't you think if they were faeries they would have shown some sign of a connection with nature by now? Isn't that like the key thing they do?"

Peter looked at his brother thoughtfully, "I'm sure they've learned to hide it. But don't you think it's odd how they were just living in the woods?"

"Well I'm sure they were just-"

"And the way their dressed, don't faeries pass down very precious pieces of jewelry to their children?"

"Well now that you mention it I was wondering about that-"

"And didn't you find it weird how they were praying for that dead bear?"

Edmund didn't respond this time, he thought through the past few days carefully. He remembered the odd way Lily had had her hand in the water, looking almost entranced. He didn't quite see why it was such a big deal though. "Well, even if they are part-faerie, why does it matter? It's not like their dangerous." He threw the rock back to Peter, taking the boy slightly off guard.

Peter flinched, but managed to somehow catch the stone. He did not meet his brother's eyes, however, as he replied, "Well, I know but, I…why would they lie to us about that?" He tossed his brother the rock again.

"Maybe they don't want us treating them like faeries. Cause, if you can recall, they weren't exactly known as the most noteworthy creatures in Narnia."

Peter looked at the wall, not staring at anything in particular. "I'm not being judgmental. It just makes me worried."

"Well if you're not judgmental," Edmund started, drawing his brother's face back to his own. "Then why should you be worried?" His face was serious, but defensive. He didn't want his brother to become prejudice. He placed the rock on the ground, signaling to Peter that he was ready for bed.

Peter nodded his head in acknowledgment and pulled the covers off the mattress. Peter was never very fond with sleeping in the same bed as Edmund; the boy had a habit of kicking, but decided that since arguing would not do him any good, placing one of the 3 pillows in between the two of them would fix the problem.

As he removed his shirt and climbed into bed, he couldn't help but think about what Edmund had said. He never considered himself a very prejudice man. In fact, he had always been a very fair and gracious king. However, when it came to faeries, he couldn't help but be slightly bigoted against them. It was always said to him, by people and by literature, that faeries were never good to have around, and were weak as sticks when it came to combat. And ever since meeting the sisters, a bad feeling had begun to creep over his body. Nevertheless, upon hearing Edmund's rebuttal, he couldn't help but feel a little guilty. Edmund was, for the most part, the only one who had really spent a substantial amount of time with one of them, which made his defense that much stronger. Peter only hoped that after his lesson with Serena the next day he would know more about her, so that his opinions, no matter how positive or negative they may be, would be purely based on fact.

He blew out the dimly lit candle, the smoke swirling mystically from the darkened wick, before pulling himself under the covers, plans for his sword fighting lesson weaving around in his brain as he drifted off into a calm sleep.

* * *

The dim gray light of dawn filled the room occupied Serena and Lily. Shining beams shone through the square cut out in the wall, a makeshift window of sorts. The light sprawled curiously across the older girl's eyes, causing her to groan and move around in sleepy discomfort. She was rudely awoken by this obnoxious light, her eyes opening slowly as they adjusted.

She sat herself up and rubbed her eyeballs, yawning as she dismissed sleep from her body. A small glance to her left assured her that her sister was still sleeping soundly, her breath soft and regular. She quietly slipped off her bed and stretched, raising her arms to the sky as her muscles lengthened pleasurably.

She walked up to the dresser, the wooden piece of furniture not nearly lovely enough for description, and pulled open one of the 4 drawers. Inside laid 4 pairs of cotton leggings, made, once again, by the wonderful centaur women. She pulled one brown pair out and pulled them over her bare legs, leaving the over sized shirt, also from the dresser, which she had worn to bed, on over body.

In the drawer below there was a pair of dark brown riding boots. She figured the Narnians thought their kings and queen would appreciate them.

Before leaving, she picked up the small ruddy book that was placed on her bed stand the night before. She had successfully finished the section that was needed, and it simply lay there, probably never to be read by her again. Nevertheless, she lifted the small thing in her hands and brought it purposefully to her lips, pressing them lightly to the leather cover. She placed it lovingly back onto the table, and whispered it a soft, "Thank you," before exiting the room.

* * *

A cool chill was residing in the morning air. Even under his clothed body Peter could feel the cold creeping up his skin. He sat upon a large gray rock in the middle of the giant field, fearing that she had forgotten, and he was freezing for nothing. He was dressed in relatively the same looking outfit as the day before, save for a slightly thicker shirt and pants. Next to him, on the grassy ground dampened by the morning dew, lay 2 sword-length poles and two actual swords. He had picked up both from the artillery that morning. The expectation of actually using blades was low, but he still brought them for technical reasons.

As he rubbed his hands together, attempting to circulate some warmth to his fingertips, the silhouette of the girl he had been waiting for emerge from the entryway of the How. She walked at a sluggish pace, not at all helping with his patience, or lack thereof.

Once she seemed to catch sight of him, however, her pace quickened. When she reached him, Peter stated, very dryly, "Good of you to show up." Serena rolled her eyes sheepishly.

"I'm sorry, we can't all be as prompt as you."

Peter picked up on the hint of sarcasm in her voice, "no I guess you can't."

She glared at him, it was way too early for this. "Whatever. So are you gonna give me a lesson or not?" Her arms were crossed tightly over her chest, partially due to the cold and partially due to the conversation.

Peter nodded, but put a firm hand on her shoulder as she moved towards the swords. "I'm not going to take the chance. We're starting with poles." He picked up and handed one to a sour faced Serena, her eyes rolling once more as he bent to get his own.

"The first rule of sword fighting," he started, positioning the pole in his hand and holding it above him, looking at it intensely, "Is to always be on your feet." He then, with no forewarning, jolted the pole in her direction, causing the poor unsuspecting girl to shriek and jump hastily out of the way.

"What was that for?" She cried, cheeks reddening with surprise.

"To show you that no opponent will ever go easy on you, not even a teacher." Although he meant to be serious, the astonished look on her face caused a chuckle to slip from his lips.

Her eyes narrowed at his laugh as she bent down to retrieve the pole she had inadvertently dropped on the ground, drying it off on her shirt.

"You really are as immature as they say." She ran her index finger over the pole to make sure it was sufficiently dry, before looking back up at him, his eyes growing increasingly blue in the gray light.

Peter's smile faded into an irritated frown. "Hey I'm the one who woke up at like 6 in the morning-"

"Look I don't need a speech ok? Just please give me the lesson, preferably without life threatening sneak attacks." The corner of her mouth twitched as she reasoned with him. Though he wasn't her favorite person, she really needed the lesson.

Peter laughed softly, "No promises." Serena gave him a sarcastic smile, as he added, "But anyways I'm going to figure you already know how to hold a sword and how to stand right?"

She nodded, thanking Aslan for the book.

"Good. So let's start with the harder stuff shall we?"

* * *

The gray light of dawn, for many, signaled the beginnings of a new day. The bright glow of morning illuminating their hearts with hopes of wonderful hours following, these hopes, continually, being the sole reason for dragging their tired bodies out of the warmth of their beds. But for some people, this brilliant shade of dull light only indicated the beginning of another day, a day that was undeserving of any descriptive literary term preceding it, a day that began another stage in the never-ending cycle of hours, minutes, and seconds. However, these people aren't to say unappreciative of the dawn, no in fact they have come to value the absolute beauty of this time of day more than the average person would ever hope to. They find themselves waking up at early hours to watch the slow rise of the sun, embracing the new day, for that is the best they can hope to do. This is exactly what Louis found himself doing every morn, awaking before the sun did to watch its lovely ascent into the sky. He always found it exceptionally hard to believe that people and creatures alike could miss such a sight, enjoying the back of their eyelids more than the natural beauty of the world around them.

He had left his room about 2 hours prior, slinking down the dark corridors to a large ledge that was situated right in eye line of the horizon. The orange bulge of the sun was beginning to emerge from behind the green trees, drawing his careful eye towards it. Even the sight of his "child" having a sword fighting lesson with High King Peter could not detract his eyes from the gorgeous sun. He told himself that he would watch later, but for now, some things took precedence over others.

Peter whacked Serena's hand with his plasticy pole, causing the girl to screech in pain.

"Hey!" She put her injured arm to her mouth and instinctively kissed it, her vain attempt to relieve another pain the king had inflicted on her.

"You have to remain focused constantly! If that had been a real sword you would have one less hand." Peter stated, incredibly aggravated. His cheeks were flushed with frustration and the warmth of exercising, and his eyebrows seemed to be permanently furrowed as he looked at the wincing girl.

"That doesn't mean you have the right to whack me! Besides, the sun was in my eyes. And before you say anything the raid is at night, so I won't have to worry about that!" She retorted, her voice slightly muffled by the hand in front of her mouth.

Peter sighed angrily and placed a hand on his forehead. "There will be torches, but it doesn't matter because you can't hide the fact that you can't fight!" It had only been about an hour into their lesson and Peter was already a sly remark away from storming off.

"Maybe it's because my teacher stinks at teaching and finds some weird sort of joy in harming his students!"

"Well you know who does find joy in hurting you? The Telmarines do!" He screamed, his hair becoming a messy jumble of curling tresses.

"Well then how can I defend myself against people who do want to hurt me if no one will teach me how to defend myself _without_ hurting me?" She yelled back, the areas under her eyes turning a reddish color.

Peter sighed in defeat and ran his hand through his hair, his voice becoming more level. "Tell you what, I promise not to hurt you, if you promise to actually try. Ok?" He added the last part weakly after receiving a particularly unmotivated glare from Serena.

She didn't respond for a few moments, but then stated, "Ok."

Peter nodded and proceeded to reinstate his lesson, this time reminding himself to keep it faerie clean.

* * *

*_Knock knock_*

The loud sound of someone's knuckles repeatedly rapping at the wooden door went unnoticed by Edmund. His eyes still firmly covered by his eyelids.

*_Knock knock*_

"Edmund! Wake up!"

The laughing female voice went through Edmund's ear and out the other, merging itself into his dreams.

*_Knock knock*_

"Edmund I'm serious!"

This time the voice and loud noises removed Edmund from his dreamland. He opened his eyes quickly and yelled a muffled, "I'm awake!"

He began to scramble out of bed and throw clean clothes on as he heard Lily's voice saying,

"Hurry It's time for breakfast!"

Edmund quickly got himself relatively put together in the time he was allotted to do so. He emerged from his room to see Lily, dressed in a large shirt that reached her knees, trying to surpress a giggle.

"What?"

She pointed to his chest. He followed her finger with his eyes to see that he had put his shirt on backwards. He groaned. "I'll be right back."

He returned to his room and twisted his gray shirt around. The similarly colored light of dawn was regrettably never enough to wake this boy up.

* * *

"Up, down, around, good!" Peter exclaimed, Serena successfully negating his frontal attack, the girl's face lighting up more then he had ever seen before.

"You're better at this then I thought you'd be." He said this more to himself, but it didn't stop her smile from faltering a bit.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing," he muttered, dusting off his pants with his hands, his pole temporarily on the ground. He paused, however, to say, "Hey can I ask you a question." His voice was quiet, like he both wanted and did not want to mention this inquiry.

Serena gave him a look, reminding him of their deal. It may have seemed stupid, but she didn't want him thinking he could get everything he wanted for nothing

Peter, upon seeing her face, let out an irritated burst of air, and threw his hands up into the air. "I'm giving you free sword lessons!"

She pondered this for a second, and nodded her head in agreement. "Ok, fine. What would you like to know?" She then copied him, and began patting the bits of dirt of her shirt and leggings.

"What are you?" His voice was slightly meek, the awkwardness of such a question penetrating the tone in which he asked it. Consequently for him, her reaction was of the same emotion.

She stopped her movements abruptly and looked up to him, an obviously forced nonchalant expression gracing her features. "I'm a person. What are you?"

He rolled eyes and slowly increased the volume of his voice. "No that's not what I meant."

"Then what did you mean?"

"Don't play stupid." Peter spat, not meaning to sound as mean as he did. "Do you really expect me to believe that two _human_ girls were just living in the forest?"

Serena narrowed her eyes, and replied sarcastically, "You're right. I'm a centaur. There's no hiding my horse legs from you genius king." She shook her right leg out for emphasis.

Peter wasn't amused. "I know you and your sister are faeries." He stated, his voice as flat as his throat would allow it to be.

Serena's eyes widened slightly, but besides that her relatively blank expression remained intact. "That's a big assumption-"

"I want to know why you kept it a secret."

"Do you wanna ask me nicely?" Serena suggested, sick of his lack of common courtesy.

"So you're admitting it?"

"I'm not confirming or denying anything." She replied, almost sadly as she picked her pole off the ground. "But faerie or not, I would like to continue my lesson now."

Peter opened his mouth to speak when he heard a familiar girly voice, "Do you guys want some breakfast!" It was not until those words escaped his baby sister's mouth that he realized the extent of hunger his stomach was going through.

He looked to Serena, her hand, complete with pole, hanging limply by her side. He figured she must have been starving as well.

"We'll continue this after breakfast."

Serena nodded quietly as he picked up the weapons, including the pole in her hand, and headed inside, following his sister's bobbing light brown head.

Serena stood alone in the cool air of morning for a few moments, pondering what had just gone on. In the back of her mind, the far distant crevices of her psyche, she found herself wondering the same question. Why had she been so keen on keeping her genetic history a secret?

Of course, the second this question entered her mind it was overwhelmed by all the answers it had taken her a lifetime to form. And at the end of her thoughts, the only words she could come up with as a plausible answer she spoke aloud, as if hoping someone could possibly hear. "I just did."

Before long, a few seconds at the most, Serena began to realize the haunting silence around her, and the loud grumbling sound coming from her abdomen. She turned towards the How and began to walk inside; hoping the pleasurable feeling of food and the friendly face of her sister would calm her slightly, though curiously, loud beating heart.

As she started towards the entryway, she paused as her eyes caught sight of a familiar man, standing atop the ledge she herself had sat upon the afternoon before. Although his face was too far way to get a clear expression from, she knew the man well enough to know what he was doing. She knew very well that Louis was standing a top that ledge, chuckling at her. A toothy smile most likely plastered upon his thin face as he disappeared into the rocky How.

* * *

**A/N Told you it would be long :D But I hope everyone enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it! **

**I'm asking you, to review, cause that is what, you should do! (you're jealous of my rhyming skills, just admit it :P)  
**


	11. Lessons pt 2, Smiles, and Farewells

**DISCLAIMER I DO NOT OWN CON ONLY MY OWN CHARACTERS!**

**So I got this chapter done in almost half a week, yay! It's about as long as my last one too :D So I don't want to keep everyone waiting reading this introduction, so enjoy chapter 11 and review!  


* * *

**Breakfast, as it is for many a person, was composed of conversations about the quality of sleep and plans for the day. The people sitting upon the wooded benches would every so often have to cover their food-filled mouths as they spoke, as to refrain from accidentally spitting it all over their neighbor. The food placed neatly on the table was a satisfying mix of fruits and bread, the number of each dwindling as the hungry Narnians and humans gobbled it down like wild beasts. The general aura surrounding the room was a good one; except for the little awkward side glances and dramatic irony that a few of the people enjoying their meals at that particular table possessed.

"Serena, what's that on your hand?" Lucy pointed to the ovular black and blue blotch located by Serena's knuckles

"Oh nothing, just a little mishap," She replied, removing her hand from the table. The multiple places Peter had hit her with his pole were slowly starting to affect the nerves all over her body. She knew for a fact that there was one particularly large one on the side of her right arm, but the long sleeves of her shirt kept her from being able to see how bad it really was. She could not stop herself from lifting her eyes for a slight second to see if there was any guilt upon Peter's hungry face; there wasn't.

Serena continued to move her fork absentmindedly around the strawberries on her plate, every so often sticking one into her mouth. She had eaten an apple and a large piece of bread, but did not feel as famished as everyone around her appeared to be.

Peter joyously put a large piece of white bread into his mouth, the wonderful flavors of the food giving him a wonderful feeling. Although, it perhaps was not just the food that was making him so cheerful, it may have also been the fact that he had found out exactly what he wanted. He had pretty much confirmed the fact that the sisters were indeed faeries. However, there were points in time when he would wonder momentarily as to why it mattered that much, but he pushed that thought from his mind, he enjoyed being pleased with himself.

He did feel a bit blameworthy for hitting her with the pole so many times, but although his teaching methods may have been harsher than some, he hoped that he put a realistic idea in her head. Plus faeries were said to heal quickly, so he didn't worry too much.

Lily, who was seated in between Louis and Edmund and across from Serena, reached her hand across the table and placed it on her sister's. "I hate you, I hate you, I hate you." She muttered, a playful smile attempting to weasel its way onto her face.

Louis put his forehead to the side of girl's head and whispered, "I don't think that's going to work." He chuckled as Serena giggled slightly, appreciating her sister's love for her. As Lily released her hand and continued working her way through an apple, Serena glanced down at her own food, a surge of hunger penetrating her body as she reached for another piece of bread.

Breakfast ended after about an hour; but Peter, Glenstorm, Caspian, and Edmund had to discuss battle strategies for the raid that night before Serena's lessons could be continued. To pass the time, she spoke with random Narnians, half listening and paying no attention to what they were saying to her. The whole endeavor with Peter realizing her faerie ancestry still settling in her stomach.

After about an hour or so, Peter emerged from the group, and found Serena, who was currently speaking with Reepicheep, his irrational excitement bringing a small smile to the girls pink lips. Peter walked up to her, received a gracious bow from the mouse as he realized his accomplice was needed elsewhere, and suggested that they continue their training. She nodded silently and they returned to the meadow, both silent as ghosts.

* * *

The late morning sun was warmer than that of the early morning, but there was still a small chill sleeping in the air. If it hadn't been for the agile sword training practice Peter and Serena were currently in, they would most likely have found themselves irritably chilly.

The two had barely spoken a word throughout the hour they had been practicing. It could be argued that they were just keen on staying focused, but it was probably more likely that the two just simply did not know what to say. That is, until, Peter came up with something.

"Look I'm not prejudice you know," He stated, banging his pole on hers before shooting it over the top of her head, just grazing the blonde hair covering it.

"Why do you think I think you are?" Serena asked, ducking under his swing and hitting his pole once more with her own.

"Just because I don't want it to be the reason you don't tell everyone what you are." He replied, twirling out of the way as she lunged towards him.

"Why should I tell everyone?" She began, their poles slapping against each other a few times before she twirled, much like Peter had, out of the way as a pole was thrown at her, "Do you think I should just go up to everyone I meet and be like I'm part faerie, what are you?" Her voice was very breathy due to the quickness of her movements.

Peter smiled, "No, you just seem so ashamed." He put unplanned emphasis on the last word as he had to dip quickly under her pole as it was flung above his head.

"You would be too," was all she was able to say before Peter managed to hit her calf hard with his 'weapon', the sharp pain causing her to fall backwards and hit the grass covered ground.

There are those few seconds after someone plummets to the earth, in which you stand in anticipation as to what their reaction will be. You wonder; will they burst into tears? Will they go into a fit of rage? Well, what Serena did do was the last thing Peter would have ever expected. She burst out laughing.

At first the way her face convulsed led Peter to believe he was in for a crying girl, but the sounds that came out of her mouth were not wails, but loud peals of laughter. It was not the surprising exclamation of hilarity that caught Peter so off guard, however, as one would expect something so unbelievably random to do, but it was her smile. It was the first time he had ever seen a genuine smile on her lips, and the odd little way it brightened up her face made his stomach do an irritating little flip.

Serena tried to control the mirth that was flowing from her mouth, but she just couldn't. It seemed that every diminutive feeling she had been hiding came out with one big outburst of strange jubilation, the little faerie she did have inside her taking a strong hold. Although it wasn't a reaction she was really in favor of, it was better than crying.

"Umm, is everything okay?" Peter finally asked; a chuckle in his words. After a moment she seemed to quiet the laughter for the most part and was able to manage giving him a small nod, her hand firmly placed over her still smiling mouth.

"What is so funny?"

Serena answered this question with a shake of her head, her mini convulsions of giggles seeming to die down. And as her surge of happiness came to an end, she looked around the area she was sitting upon, as if taking in the fact that she had been lying on the ground the whole time.

Peter extended a hand to her, which she took in a jerky motion, as though believing the appendage was white hot. As he pulled her up, she leaned forward a bit, her body momentarily against his. For the few seconds they touched, she couldn't help but feel so incredibly stupid for laughing that hard in front of him. Of course he would believe her brainless outburst of laughter was faerie related, which of course, was exactly what she didn't want to happen.

Whilst stepping back and simultaneously regaining her balance, her eyes focused on the curve of the grass, Serena said, "I'm sorry about that, it's just been a long day." She coolly ran her hands over her hair as he answered, "Then how about we do some non-movement training." He wanted to get back to preparation as quick as possible, hoping it would push the sight he had just seen out of his immediate memory.

She looked at him confused for a second, before realizing he probably meant talking over the mental states one should be in and stuff like that. She exhaled softly before replying, "Ok."

* * *

The glow of the late morning sun shined brilliantly through the loosely knit tree leaves. Speckles of light covered the autumn color palette that painted the forest floor. Though there were no actual paths specifically created, the wood was not particularly thick, and allowed itself to be navigated through with little to no difficulty. The horrible stillness of the trees did not enter the minds of the two teenagers walking through the lovely forest, their heads to full of horrid thoughts of war to notice the motionless foliage.

"Have you ever, killed anyone?" Peter asked slowly; his pace even with Serena's as they walked through the woods, the periodic sound of crunching leaves as a pleasant background noise around them.

Serena shook her head, "No, I'm not really that type of person."

Peter nodded solemnly in acknowledgment, "Well, one of the first rules of battle is that it's not all glory and sword fights, people really do get hurt."

"I know that, but I still want to-"

"I know you still want to come, I just want you to remember that. I mean, even I had trouble with it at first." Peter replied, with a little more angst then he had meant to. He stepped cautiously under a low branch as the blonde girl softened her eyes, his sentence slowly settling into her brain.

"What was it like? The first time you killed something I mean." She made her voice delicate and seemingly caring. A few tweets of birds singing their sweet tunes streamed through her ears as he replied,

"Hey, we have a deal, remember" Peter looked to the girl with a raised eyebrow, her eyes rolling at his statement.

"Fine, ask me a question," She turned her face away from him, her eyes absentmindedly looking at the quiet brown trees planted strongly into the earth.

"Why were you guys praying for that bear?" He shook his head to realign his bangs, which had been annoyingly dancing in front of his eyes for some time now.

Serena changed the position of her eyes to look at him, a little surprised that this was his question. He seemed to have had a rather prominent one a few hours ago. "Well, you could say there's a few really annoying rules that faeries have to live by." Peter noted how much hate was infused in the word "faeries," as she continued, "One being that if we witness anything being killed, for non battle purposes, then we must pray for it." She finished a little awkwardly, Peter giving her a look saying, "OK?"

"Look it's a stupid rule I know, but it's the reason." She placed a few misplaced curls behind her ears. The boy next to her quietly zeroed in on the newly exposed body part, just out of the slight curiosity of seeing whether or not they were pointed. They weren't. As she turned to him, he quickly whipped his head back to its front position, and asked, a little too fast,

"Who taught that to you? I mean your parents were dead right, so who educated you on the rules? Or do you just, know them?" There was a bit of mystery in his last two words. A large part of him hoped that maybe they were just something all faeries new, for some reason it would have made the idea of their being rules far more enthralling.

"Well Louis did, and Trumpkin did too in a way." She replied, a little distractedly since she didn't realize he had just asked her another question. She did, however, remember as he stated a third,

"Wait, why Trumpkin?"

She stuck her index finger up to remind him of her one query rule, hoping that he would overlook her slip.

Peter nodded, but chuckled a bit, running his fingers charmingly through his hair, "You know, that was a little anticlimactic."

Serena stopped walking, her eyes glued to the king. "What do you mean?"

"Nothing, just I dunno I thought it was going to be cooler than that, ya know?" He replied, ceasing his walking as well.

Serena narrowed her eyes, "Well I'm sorry to disappoint you." A sickening amount of sarcasm entwined itself with her words, manifesting them like lice.

Peter looked to her, the argumentative and almost bipolar nature of this girl finally cracking him. "Look I didn't mean anything by it. I thought you'd be happy that I thought you guys were interesting!"

"Why do I have to be _interesting_? Why can't I just be normal?"

"Well you're not normal-"

His sentence was cut off as he noticed fire beginning to erupt from her eyes. The anger welling up inside of her flowing through her irises like lava from an furious volcano.

"Yes it is." She said flatly, the tips of her words covered in a heated frost. Without a moments thought she walked past Peter, her nose pointed slightly in the air, and bumped his shoulder as she stormed out of the forest.

The boy, not even bothering to turn around and witness the blonde girl leaving the wood, put his hand to his forehead and made quiet, but expressive, gestures of aggravation in the air around him. He could not stand how speaking with her was like walking across a floor covered in broken glass; one wrong step and you've got a wound on your hands.

The Emotional gestures he continued to make were, to his incredible surprise, responded to by a voice,

"Irritated are we?" A familiar chuckle was heard as Peter whipped his head around to see Louis, comfortably sitting between the two branches of a sturdy tree, his bare feet dangling about 5 feet off the ground.

Peter gave him an extremely annoyed sigh. "What, are you doing here?"

Louis chuckled at his exasperated tone. "Well I was going on my usual mid-morning stroll," he paused as he dismounted the tree, giving himself a small nod of his head as he stuck the landing. "When I saw you two walking through the forest, and, not wanting to awkwardly run into you, I decided to hop up on this lovely oak." He gave the tree trunk a very loving stroke before turning back to the befuddled King.

"You are an odd person." Peter told the man, he was so confused by his random tendencies.

Louis let out a genuine laugh. "You've been spending way too much time with Serena I can see."

Peter snorted. "Maybe I have." At this point a cold wind blew through the air, resulting in Peter rubbing his arms quickly, hoping that the friction would bring him temporary warmth.

"Now, you don't mean that."

Peter hadn't even realized until the wind blew it, but Louis' hair was not in its usual short ponytail, but was down, the collarbone length hair just dusting his shoulders. "True, she can be stubborn, but that doesn't mean she's completely ready to fight on her own yet." He took a few steps towards Peter as he continued, "Plus, maybe if you use actual weapons, she'll soften up a bit." A glitter passed through Louis' eyes as Peter began to understand what he meant.

"I doubt she wants to take lessons from me anymore, and even if she did, I don't really think she deserves them." He had left his arms crossed, no longer cold, but frozen in that position nonetheless.

"Well, perhaps not, but don't you believe she deserves to live?" Louis focused on the boy's face, certain to watch over any twist of his expression.

"What?"

"Well you know, lessons or not, she's going to join you on the raid. No matter what." Louis made an avid detection of the tensing corners of Peter's mouth.

"So what are you saying I should do?"

"Well, you can either stay here talking with me, which I know is always a fun time," Louis made a gesticulation full of a mock pride with his hands, "or you can continue sword fighting." He glanced towards the king's visage before continuing, "Now, Serena or no Serena, I really do believe that that is the better option." A minor shimmer entered his iris as Peter's face softened.

"I suppose that makes sense." He answered, as if trying to really piece together what Louis had said.

"Good, so I suggest you get a move on finding her, she's a fast walker she is. And if you ever need me dear High King," He began, taking a few steps in the opposite direction, "All you need to do is whistle." He curved his lips into a small 'o' shape, and blew a faint example whistle. A joking little twinkle shined on his eyeball as he trotted away, continuing with his annual mid-morning stroll as if nothing had even happened at all.

Peter watched as the man walked away, the question of his faerie nature entering and leaving his mind before he decided to head back towards the How, a bit of unconscious fear rising in him at the idea of giving a sword to an upset female.

* * *

Normalcy is a funny thing. Throughout one's life it is the single thing one strives for, and yet tries to distance oneself from. In short, it is normal to be abnormal as long as the abnormal you wish to be is normal. Now when it comes to a complete oddity, or something that could not even be considered normal to a normal individual, well they are the clear definition of abnormal, or in some cases, just plain weird. These atypical descriptions usually appear when someone is torn between two different ideas, or in certain situations, races. When one is normal and one is abnormal, the abnormal part, no matter how small a percentage it may be, will always engulf the normal piece. It infects with its anomalous characteristics; leaving the person it attaches itself too almost more irregular than the original. So how does one deal with a dilemma such as this? Why they push the abnormal piece of themselves as far away as possible. They shove it up against the smallest corner of their being, and pray that no one will ever discover it laying there in the darkness.

Serena situated herself on the rock Peter had been seated upon that morning. She had debated about running into the How to distance herself from the boy, but she didn't want to look like one of those weak girls who always run away crying from their problems. So instead, she sat upon that boulder, idly stroking the course rock with her hands; her mind wandering to the most arbitrary topics one could possibly think of.

As thoughts of tree frogs graced her brain, the outline of a familiar young boy appeared in the corner of her eye. Even from such an altered view, it was obvious by the plodding of his legs that he was not looking forward to seeing her. She turned her head to the side, pretending not to have seen him, as he neared her, his pace slow.

After about 3 minutes of staring at nothing, Serena heard the grass near her crunch under Peter's weight.

He made a guttural sound, similar to that of an "ahem," but not quite. Serena turned slowly at his noise, sure to make her eyes read shock that she didn't actually feel.

"Oh, I didn't see you there."

Peter grunted in recognition before taking a seat on the same rock, about 90 degrees away from her.

A few moments of awkward silence passed before Peter said, "It wasn't easy."

Serena faced the blonde boy, his head angled at the ground. "What?"

"Killing. Even something evil, it's just, hard to do." He put his hands under his chin, as if reliving memories in his mind.

Serena slightly twisted her body in his direction, "Did you think it would be?" Her voice was quiet, a delicateness jumping from syllable to syllable.

"No, I just….you need to put yourself in this mindset, where it's not that you're killing them, as much as you're saving other people. Does that make sense?" He smiled an awkward 'let's break the tension' smile. Serena looked away, the slight breeze that had lain dormant in the air picking up again, making her hair twirl nimbly around her face.

"It does, it makes perfect sense. But, I must know, why are you telling me this?" She spoke with the hint of the unintentional frost one uses when they are expecting an answer they don't like.

Peter sighed. "Well besides the fact that it was your question, I brought it up because I don't want you coming with us thinking that it will make you seem tough or strong. War isn't all fun and games, it's dangerous."

She turned back to him, the expression on his face revealing that he was being one-hundred percent honest. But Serena didn't want to let it get to her. "Then we'll need more practice now won't we?"

Peter looked at her enthusiastic face, a stream of regret and disappointment swimming through his blue eyes. He nodded to her, and added, "Ok, and, I can't believe I'm saying this, but I think we should upgrade to actual swords."

Serena tried to hide the small smile growing on her face as he said this, but was failing miserably.

* * *

There is nothing more calming then combing a doll's hair. For some reason, the continuous strokes through its long locks relax one to an amazing degree. No matter what may be going on in their life at the moment, their mind can almost always be temporary cleared by the soft pulses through.

Lily ran her comb, given to her by Susan who had politely requested it from a Centaur woman, throughout the blonde curls of her lovely doll. Each stroke gave her the euphoric feeling of relaxation and calm. Ever since breakfast she had been sitting on the ledge overlooking the field, just brushing her doll's hair. Every so often she would glance up to see if her sister had resumed her lesson, or if she was even in sight. But for the most part, her eyes were glued to the light colored tresses of her fragile toy.

As she fixed a misbehaving curl with her finger, she heard light footsteps ascending the short flight of stairs that led to the ledge. Without even turning around she knew who it was. She had seen the boy glance up towards her and abruptly end his sword training with a strongly built minotaur, him then speed walking away from the scene and into the How.

"Hey Lily, whatcha doin?"

She turned around to see the friendly face of Edmund, a smile gracing her rosy lips, "Nothing much." She tapped the ground next to her with an open palm, indicating for him to sit down next to her. He walked up to the spot and flung his legs over the edge.

"So, are you okay? I saw you-" He stopped when he saw her eyes refocus themselves on the distant bodies of his brother and her sister. They both now appeared to be practicing with swords; he sighed knowingly. "As much as I don't like to admit it, Peter's a pretty good sword fighter. Not as good as me of course, but still." He let out a small laugh to lighten the mood, but only got an "hmm?" from her, a response which suggested that she most likely had not been listening.

He swung his legs over the ledge, spun in a 90 degree angle and twisted them into a pretzel shape, his abrupt movement bringing Lily's eyes towards him. He could see through the glaze over her irises that there was a worried pain inside them, a storm of empathy thundered in his heart. "I'm sure she'll be fine."

Lily blinked, the glaze over her eyeballs clearing, "What? Oh yeah I know." Her tone was not convincing in the slightest.

"It looks like she's doing well." He made a slight gesture out to the field where Peter and Serena were practicing, "Don't worry too much, you'll pull all your poor doll's hair out."

Lily looked down to see that due to her constant brushing a few golden stands lay dead on the ground and attached to the white comb clutched in her hand.

"Oh." She attempted to giggle, but all that emerged from her throat was a hiccup.

Edmund, fearing she would cry, pet her shoulder tenderly. "It'll be okay."

Lily looked at him, her eyes growing damp. "How do you know? How do you know that she won't die, and that I won't have to live with just Louis? And he leaves so much that I'll have to live all alone and I..I…I need my sister." A whine escaped her as she said the last words, her fast rant leading a few tears to fall down her cheek.

"No, please don't cry. I can't stand it when girls cry." Edmund groaned. He put an arm around her shoulders in an attempt to comfort her, her body showing signs of shaking.

"I'm sorry." She said, abruptly calming herself and whipping away the tears in her eyes. "I don't mean to-"

"No it's fine." Edmund replied, his arm moving back to its position on her shoulder.

A thought emerged in his brain as he contemplated more thoroughly over what she had just said.

"Um Lily," He began once she seemed to have composed herself fully, "Why aren't you worried about Louis? I mean couldn't he be killed too." As soon as the words escaped his mouth Edmund scolded his brain for being so stupid. He knew she would erupt once again in tears; which is why it shocked him so much that instead of writhing in sadness, her face went blank.

"Oh, well, he's been lots of places and along the way he's been trained. I'm sure he'll be perfectly fine." There was a small trace of something in her voice that Edmund picked up on but couldn't identify. He decided not to press her though; it really wasn't any of his business anyways.

"Oh okay." He twisted his body back so that it faced the meadow, his legs once again strung over the edge.

They sat staring out at the field for only a few minutes, but it felt like hours. Edmund wasn't really looking at anything in particular, darting his eyes from his brother, to Susan's archery lesson, to the lovely trees surrounding the How. This spaced out state of mind being the reason why he was so startled to feel someone wrapping their arms around his.

The warm touch brought his eyes to see Lily's curls right in his line of vision. She had wrapped her arms around his right forearm and was resting her soft head on his shoulder. Her face was nuzzled against his shirt as she whispered, "Please be okay tonight Edmund, I don't want to lose you either."

Edmund felt a smile creep onto his face as he put his head against hers and replied, "Don't worry, I will be."

* * *

"OK, I think were good." Peter lowered his sword as he ended their lesson, the sun slowly making its way down the sky.

Serena nodded; her hair a messy jumble of curls that required multiple tosses of her head in order to keep out of her face.

Though it was only mid-afternoon, the remaining few hours needed to be devoted to getting the attack plan down pat. The two of them made their way back into the How, Peter, upon his diligent request, carrying all weapons except for Serena's original pole, as sunset seemed to be biting at their heels.

A quiet buzz filled the halls of Aslan's How. It was an almost inaudible hum that cut through the tense air like a blunt knife. Warriors were saying a brief pre-farewell to their families as the kings and queens discussed the plans for the raid, jamming it artfully into everybody's brain in hopes that even the peril of war would not divert their memories of it.

Upon being told, multiple times, their jobs for the raid, Louis and Serena, well really mostly Louis dragging the girl with him, excused themselves from the small room used for strategizing, their reason that they wished to give the main monarchies a bit of time to themselves.

In the hall outside the room, Louis suggested that they go to somewhere quiet and secluded. He stated that he didn't want any passerby Narnian to hear what he had to say.

Once they had distanced themselves far enough away from where anyone could have been lurking, Louis abruptly turned to Serena, and put something directly in her face, seeming to have pulled it out from nowhere.

"Here, drink this." Serena blinked to focus her eyes on the small clear vile containing a dark blue liquid that Louis had thrusted in front of her. The glistening shines radiating from the fluid telling of its unnatural properties. She looked quizzically at it, and replied,

"Why?"

"Because it will help you fight." He reached into his vest and withdrew a small book upon receiving a perplexed look from the girl. The book looked as if the pages had been turned multiple times, many of them appearing to be barely staying within the confines of the binding. The lovingly careful way he held it in his bony hands would lead one to believe that it was more important to him then life itself. He gingerly opened to one of the many pages book marked with a brown piece of thin paper.

"Right here, it's a potion that enhances one's sword fighting, and other general fighting skills." He showed her the open page, the words written in some ancient faerie language that Serena could barely translate. If it hadn't been for the picture of a fairly well drawn warrior gracing the sheet, she would not have believed him. She opened her eyes wide.

"How long were you planning on making this?" Her voice had become that of an angry whisper.

Louis let out a half chuckle. "Ever since the meeting." She gave him a disbelieving look.

"Why did you make me take those lessons then?" She hissed through her teeth.

An annoying sparkle entered Louis' gray eye, "Well it would have been weird if you went from non-fighter to amazing one."

"So you didn't actually think I could do it? I spent my whole day out there practicing and you don't even think-" Her gradually increasing voice was silenced by Louis' hand being lightly placed over her mouth.

"Shush! Of course I think you can do it. I just don't want to take any chances. Plus, don't you want to show Peter up?"

He removed his hand from her face as Serena rolled her eyes, but she had to admit, he did make a valid, and attractive, point. "Fine, but still, how did you even get the ingredients to make this?" Faerie potions were not exactly known for the simplicity of their components.

Louis looked into her eyes with a peculiar intensity. "I collect many of the ingredients on my travels, but you would not believe how many are available extremely close by."

Serena would have pressed this topic, if it hadn't been for another, more important, question entering her quickly filling mind. "How do I know that this concoction of yours won't kill me?" She held the vile up in front of her, making the odd swish of the liquid inside exceedingly apparent to her father figure.

"Why would I want to kill you?" He asked seriously, sounding almost a little offended that she would think he would do something like that.

"Well no, but have you tested it?"

Louis reached into his bag, which was skillfully strung over his shoulder. "Not yet, but I will." He pulled out an identical vile and showed it to her. "I plan on drinking one as well."

Serena's eyebrows furrowed, "I thought you could fight? You've certainly had enough time."

A certain dreary gleam appeared in Louis' eye for a split second before he replied, "I can, but I don't want to take any chances. Plus I never have fought in an actual battle before. I also wish to see if the potions from this book actually work, we wouldn't want to have malfunctioning elixirs on our hands now would we."

He chuckled for real this time as Serena turned the vile over in her hand.

"Wait; is this the same book you found the cure to Amorska in?" She asked him slowly, remembering how he had found this cure from a Library book. Of course he would have taken it.

Louis made an indistinguishable sound as he placed the book back in his vest for safe keeping. "Yes it is."

She grunted softly, clasping the potion in her hand. "But if you just want to try the book out, why are we drinking it?" She raised a golden eyebrow to the tall man. He had only been planning on using the potion on Lily, hadn't he?

Something inside his eyes faltered, it wasn't a major waver, but it was still enough to raise a hint of worry inside of Serena.

"Because at least with this, we're testing it out, and becoming better fighters, killing two Telmarines with one stone you could say." He chuckled at his own silly joke. "Plus Lily is more faerie than we are, so I doubt a book of faerie potions would harm her. We've really got nothing to lose."

Serena snorted. "Yeah, because _you've_ already got a lot to lose."

"Maybe," he started, a glitter in his eye as he gave her an otherworldly look. "But, according to your outlook on life, you do."

She shot her head up to meet his, his face serious, but his eyes glowing. Hers softened a bit at his amount of care, but she still replied a flat, "Thank you," and added, "You drink first."

Louis nodded and removed the small brown cork from the puckered top, gracefully downing the liquid in one gulp. Serena copied him after she was certain he was still in one piece, the taste of the liquid not as bad as she was expecting. Sure it was not a wonderful flavor, but it was tolerable.

The moment Louis had returned the now empty viles to his bag; Susan rounded the corner, her brown hair tied in a perfect ponytail, stating breathlessly, "There you guys are! We're leaving now."

Serena and Louis gave each other a quick glance before following after her, the effects of the potion beginning to set into their muscles.

They followed Susan's graceful silhouette to the entryway of the How, a group of pretty much every Narnian residing in it stationed outside. Half going on the raid and half staying behind.

Through the groups of bittersweet farewells was that of Lily, who, awaiting her sister's appearance, was giving a sad farewell to her new friend.

"Please be okay." Her voice was crackly, not just from this farewell however, for she had given a particularly tear filled goodbye to Trumpkin only moments before. She stood in front of Edmund with her hands on his shoulders, her doll temporarily sitting inside the How until everyone left. The boy had one arm on her and the other by his side, his brown eyes giving her a great look of sympathy. "I will be, I promise. I've been in much harder battles, and fought against foes much more difficult then these Telmarines." The inclination of his voice on the word "Telmarines" won him a small smile from Lily's saddened lips as she caught sight of her sister emerging from the entryway. Her eyes darted from the dark haired boy to the blonde girl.

Edmund turned his head slightly to see what she was looking at, a surge of understanding taking over as he looked back at her. "I'll see you later then."

Her eyes shifted back to him, looking as though they were dissecting his face before she threw her arms around the unsuspecting boy's neck, giving him a much deserved hug.

Edmund, although being caught a bit off guard, hugged her back strongly, his arms placed comfortably around her waist with meeting hands on small of her back.

After about ten seconds the embrace ended, their arms removing themselves from each others bodies. They gave one another other one last look, Edmund adding in an awkward nod just because; before Lily ran off to her sister.

As he watched Lily practically jump on Serena through the crowd of teary eyed narnians, he felt a familiar hand on his armored shoulder.

"Friendships are good." Edmund didn't even look up to his brother as he responded, his mind not completely in their conversation, "yeah, I know. We're gonna be fine, I'm sure of it."

Peter nodded as Edmund walked off to speak with Susan, who was giving hugs to practically every woman present.

Peter turned his attention from his sister to the hugging faeries in the entryway. He watched as they parted and the younger girl gave Louis, who had been standing idly next to them, a loving, though not quite as long, embrace as well.

In his mind he agreed with his brother. They were going to be fine. They _needed_ to be fine. For their family, for Narnia. However, in the back of his mind, in the darkest corner of the little area where all his unwanted thoughts resided, he knew he needed to return in order to see that smile, that strangely beautiful curve of the lips that had graced the blonde girl's face after she fell to the grassy earth. He knew that no matter what happened; he would not let himself die before seeing it one more time.

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**A/N So there was chapter 11! I know parts of it aren't fantastic but all together I'm relatively happy with how it came out. I would just like to say that the next chapter is one that I have been both looking forward too and dreading writing at the same time. I have no idea whether it will end up being broken into two chapters or not, I'm simply not sure yet. But anyways, it just means I don't how long it will take to write. I'm aiming by next weekend but nothing is set in stone. (It's a VERY important chapter that i need to get right)**

**Reviews are loved! (PS anonymous reviews are loved as well :D)  
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	12. Thoughts, Uncles, and Surprises

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN CON, ONLY SERENA, LILY AND LOUIS**

**Chapter 12! woooooo! **

**I want to apologize for the shortness of this chapter. If I had attached it to the next one it would have been wayyyy to long, and at least with this i get something out earlier; like a taste of chapter 13? Maybe? Kinda?**

**So although it's technically chapter 12, it's really like chapter 12 part 1. (Remember that) Anyways, enough of me, read, enjoy and review! :)**

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**"You know, for all the years I have been alive, I have never managed to decide which I find more beautiful; sunrise or sunset."

The shimmering orange glow of the sun making its annual descent from the sky shined over the Narnian earth; giving the soldiers a beautiful landscape to gaze at as they flew to the Telmarine Castle. Prince Caspian and the Pevensies had decided that Peter, Susan, Caspian, Trumpkin, Louis, and Serena would fly in on gryphons and open the gates for the rest of their troops, taking the Telmarines by surprise. Edmund was flying ahead of everyone else; for he would signal them when he believed the coast to be clear.

Upon their gryphons, the majestic half-bird half-lion creatures being their means of quick transportation, Louis could be heard muttering to himself; or perhaps to any ear that would be willing to listen, about his indecisiveness between the two most lovely times of day.

"Which is your favorite?" he questioned Serena, her copper-colored gryphon flying comfortably next to his.

"Such things don't really matter much to me," she replied, her voice indicating that the subject probably did matter to her; just at the time in which she was asked, she could not have cared less. Louis, however, ignored her tone and rebutted,

"It will matter. Trust me, it will."

Throughout this whole flight the two of them had begun to feel rather odd. Not bodily, but mentally. For some reason ever since leaving, their immersion in their thoughts had become ever greater; almost beginning to blur their general thought process. Both were finding it trickier and trickier to concentrate on anything outside of their own heads, though it was not unbearable yet, it was still rather abnormal. One might wonder, although, as to why such a strange occurrence was happening. If someone, say with the mindset of Peter Pevensie, were to find this out, they would most likely believe it to be some strange behavior having to do with their faerie blood. However, to those who knew of the potion they had consumed not 1 hour prior, in which they were the only two who were aware, it would be believed that what was going on in their heads was an effect of said potion; whether this feat would end up being good or bad for their cause, was yet to be determined.

Serena made a motion to reply to Louis' comment, but was stopped by the slight movement of the soft claws that held her abdomen. The sensation brought her eyes towards the bright flashing near one of the castle towers. They were ready to go.

Upon her body she wore a dress similar to that of Susan's, long and made with a thick strong fabric, but in an off white color rather than the queens purple. Her dress, and the fighting outfit very close is construction to Caspian's that Louis wore, complete with hard brown shoulder pads; had been given to them earlier that afternoon. The structure of the clothing felt foreign, yet oddly comfortable against their bodies.

They had been flying through the air for quite a little while now; having taken flight a bit after leaving, and the sun had finally completely left the sky, covering the whole world in an almost pitch black darkness. The quarter moon, however, provided their adjusting eyes with a small gift of light as they flew closer to the castle.

The light from Edmund's strange mechanism, a torch he called it, blinked through the foggy air as they entered the proximity of the castle. As all 5 of them neared each other – they had been careful to be as spread out as possible – they caught sight of a lowly guard absentmindedly patrolling the wide castle rampart. Perhaps a little too absentmindedly, however, for he was caught completely off guard as Caspian, with one hand attached to the Gryphon's claw and one clinging to his unsheathed sword, slit the Telmarine's throat. As the lookout fell off the structure, Caspian was placed securely back into the Gryphon's claws.

Edmund, upon seeing them, flashed his torch again, the light catching the eye of another guard just below him. As the alarmed Telmarine aimed his crossbow at the boy, he was struck by the arrow of Susan Pevensie, her and the rest of the group landing upon the platform where the guard had had just been standing. Once they were successfully on solid ground, the gryphons flew off; they were to fly discreetly through the air in case anyone needed them.

Trumpkin, who had brought a rope and tied the end tightly to one of the battlements, dropped down the side of the castle. The idea was that the group would climb down it and through the window located below. The window led to Caspian's professor's study, and was said to be the least likely place they would be discovered.

They descended carefully down the rope one at a time, Louis volunteering to be last.

Once he had reached the window ledge, Caspian, who had lowered himself first, knocked gently on the intricate glass; quietly calling his Professor's name. Peter came down next, and as he landed, Caspian, after not receiving a reply, opened the unlocked window. The door-like glass silently swung forwards as Peter assisted lowering his sister and Trumpkin.

By the time Serena reached the ledge with Louis following carefully after, the prince had run off.

"Where did Caspian go?"

Susan and Peter turned around to see the girl looking quizzically at them.

"He went to find his professor." Susan answered a bit warily.

"We three can handle Miraz." Peter began as Serena made a gesture indicating her displeasure. "Louis and Trumpkin can keep watch." He jutted his head out in the direction of the tall man who had just walked through the window, rope wrapped around his hands.

"I hate to ask, but what is going on?" He questioned, a smile on his face.

As Peter explained the plan to Louis, Serena could not help but admire the room she was standing in. Even under the extremely dim light, she could see the probably hundreds of books placed neatly in the multiple wooden shelves. The amount of care he must have had for his literature and history amazed her. She found herself ignoring everything else going on around her except for the lovely bound objects.

There was one in particular, however, that caught her attention more than the others. It was placed on what she figured was the Professors' secondary desk.

She stepped towards it, doing an instinctive flicker of her eyes to see if anyone was watching, and reached a hand to touch the cover. The book was all brown, except for the blueish writing that drew out the words _Narnian Laws_.

With the utmost delicacy and swiftness, she opened the book to the table of contents; quickly running her finger down the page until she found the section labeled _Faeries._

With another quick eye flicker up – the Pevensies still explaining to Louis, who seemed to be having difficulty focusing on what they were saying – she turned to the page listed, and stared at the sheet. She read what was written on the page, the words making her heart sink and start beating; all at the same time.

As she continued to peruse the text, she felt a presence lingering above her.

"Are you ready?"

With a jolt she quickly closed the book. "Yes."

"Then you'd better go."

Serena nodded quickly, feeling a slight heat raise into her cheeks as she looked into Louis' face. She couldn't help but notice the sad look in his eyes. He must have seen what she was looking at.

She tore herself away from the man and met Susan and Peter, who were standing anxiously in the hallway. As she left the room, a quick glance back at Louis revealed the tall man standing in the study, his long face still angled towards the desk.

* * *

The two eldest Pevensies and the eldest sister quietly, but quickly, speed walked through vacant halls of the Telmarine castle; their young eyes darting in search of Miraz's room. Caspian had given them very detailed directions on how to get there from the study, but when you are surrounded by darkness and the only sounds you hear are the quick beats of your own heart, locating a foreign bedroom is not exactly easy. However, when the very distinguishable sharp sound of a sword being unsheathed graced their alert eardrums, the location of the room in question was very easily discovered.

They slowly neared the door the sounds were coming from; three voices could be heard through the thick walls. One was obviously Caspian, but the others were unknown to the three. Neverthless, the male and female intonation led them to believe that they were most likely belonging to Miraz and his wife; the woman's name having never actually been revealed to the Pevensies.

Peter put his ear to the wooden door, the lovely carvings upon it irritating the position of his head. He could hear the muffled sounds coming from within; the voices becoming increasingly agitated. Peter tried to refrain from barging in, the reason why sounding silly even to him; which is why the moment the undeniable clicks of a weapon being prepped and the female voice saying, "Caspian, I don't want to do this," slithered through the air, he shoved open the door.

Peter entered with his sword in front of him and Susan with her arrow ready in her bow.

Serena stayed back, however, because a small pain began to pulse through her muscles as she reached for her weapon. The startling sensation for the first time bringing her completely out of her head. She feared, for a moment, that perhaps the potion was having a negative effect on her; the mixture actually making her weaker instead of stronger. However, this worry proved to be ephemeral as the pain passed, leaving her muscles with a slight tingle.

She held her sword in front of her, the metal glistening from the little light coming from Miraz' bedroom. The obscured reflection of the room shining on the material reminded her that she was on the raid to help, not to sit there and do nothing.

"No!" Caspian screamed as Serena walked in. "For once I want the truth! Did you kill my father?" His sword was pressed against Miraz' neck, though the Lord had an expression that would lead one to think that this was the least surprising thing to happen to him all day.

Miraz looked like he was probably in his late 40's, but his 5 inch long dark beard and piercing black eyes took away from any wrinkles he may have had.

He backed up into the large window behind him, a stream of shock passing through his face before clearing fleetly.

"Now we get to it."

"You said your brother died in his sleep." Miraz' wife, who Serena hadn't even realized was sitting upon her bed with a crossbow aimed at Caspian, asked; her tone woven with anger, horror and confusion.

Miraz turned his head as best he could and replied to his lovely wife, his voice sounding far too calm, "That was more or less true."

Everyone in the room was shocked at his blatant confession. The completely unneeded drama that was being added to the night did not sit well with Susan.

"Caspian, this won't make things any better." Despite her warning, she kept her arrow pointed cautiously at the Telmarine woman.

"Our people would have nothing if we hadn't taken it." Miraz stated to a crazy eyed Caspian. He took a few short steps towards the boy, as if forgetting that a sword was still attached to his throat.

"How could you?" His wife responded; her face searing with disappointment as her arms started to lower.

"For the same reason that you would pull the trigger," Miraz began, stepping forward again; this time Caspian's sword puncturing the thin skin of his neck. A bubble of dark blood began to drip from the area where his flesh and the weapon met.

"For our son!"

As he took another step, his wife became ever more aware of the thin leering stream of blood running from the wound; her quick, frightened reaction being to yell a fretful "Stop!" to Caspian; her crossbow once again aimed towards him. Her motion led for Peter and Susan to lift their weapons to her, the intense tension filling the air sending their pulses into another race.

During all this Serena stayed relatively quiet, besides her mind being full of thoughts, she couldn't help but feel that everything going on had absolutely nothing to do with her; which it didn't, and felt the incredible need to stay out of it. Family matters should stay within families.

She did, however, listen as intently as possible to the conversation going on; even as she remained hidden in the corner.

"You have to make a choice dear," Miraz started, his eyes locked on Caspian, but his question directed to the woman, "Do you want our child to be King?"

Miraz' wife seemed the most anxious of them all; the manipulation of her husband's words and the amount of weapons pointed at her was creating a growing amount confusion inside her tired body.

"Or like Caspian here," Miraz' continued, taking another step towards his nephew, before screaming, "Fatherless!"

That's when she broke. Whether it was the idea of her child having no parent or the death of her husband, she released a deep cry of anguish. And, either accidentally or intended, her cross bow went off; the ugly black arrow piercing Caspian's right arm in the process.

Upon being 'released' by his captor, Miraz made a fast movement out of the room. He quickly dodged Susan's arrow and leapt out of the small abode, leaving his weeping wife on their lavish bed.

Through the gradually quieting screams of Miraz' wife; Peter, Susan and Serena ran to Caspian.

The boy was hunched over a velvet chair, his forearm clutched under his hand. The arrow from the woman's crossbow was embedded deeply in his skin.

"Ready, one, two-" Susan pulled the arrow out as rapidly as possible, her attempts at being gentle failing as the poor boy yelped in pain. "We have to bandage him." She added as a mass of blood began to appear through his thin white sleeves.

"We don't have time!" Peter replied, the exasperation in his tone revealing the amount of stress that he was feeling; Caspian's wound not helping his mood at all.

Through everything, Serena had had her eyes on Caspian's slowly reddening arm. The deep red fluid keeping her attention like bright colors do to a young child. The sight of it clicked something in her brain; somewhat of an instinct that would have likely been controlled if she had been in her normal state of mind. However, this was definitely not the case; for, as if it had a mind of its own, her hand reached forward, and touched the boy's wound. The warm blood giving her a minor jolt of familiarity as she kept her palm pressed against his flesh.

The touch made Caspian flinch slightly, but he found himself at a loss for words as the pain that had been pulsing through his forearm began to cease.

The two Pevensies and the Prince stared in utter surprise as the hole is Caspian's arm began to shrink, and finally disappearing all together.

Serena's eyes were locked on her hand, as if she would die if she lost concentration.

After a few moments passed, she released his sleeve. Though the white sleeve was still ugly with blood, the flesh underneath it was undoubtedly, and indescribably, healed.

Caspian lifted his appendage and wiggled it around as if to be sure he felt no pain at all. He then looked up at her, his brown eyes wide with immense confusion and gratitude.

"How did you do that?" He stuttered, picking himself off the chair.

Serena blinked, coming out of the mini world she was in. "What?"

"You just healed him." Susan stated a sort of relief filled flower blooming in her dazed voice.

Serena widened her eyes, the reality of what she had just done hitting her like the arrow laying on the floor.

"I know." She looked over everyone, their astonished expressions giving her a sickening feeling. Peter, however, seemed to retain an abnormally calm composure.

He opened his mouth to speak, but was interrupted by another wale from Miraz' wife.

"We need to go." Peter exclaimed, realizing that the time they had was quickly dwindling in front of them.

* * *

Louis slunk down the silent hallway, the eerie darkness almost too quiet for his taste. He had been scouting out the egresses in case any guards came into view. Luckily for him, he seemed to have avoided any confrontations. Although, he had to admit, for some reason his inability to escape his thoughts was progressively getting worse. Every time he tried to concentrate on the task at hand, he would be brought distinctively back into his own brain. Even upon hearing the loud scream of a lady, and the beginnings of warning bells going off; he just couldn't seem to pay any attention to it.

Now, Louis was a relatively smart man; and his knowledge of potions, combat, and the like was great, but he wondered, during those few precious moments when he could think normally, that perhaps it was the elixir he had drunken that afternoon that was causing him to lose hold of his surroundings. Why this was, however, he could not be sure.

So here he was, walking idly down the Telmarine Castle halls; the sounds that echoed around him entering one ear and leaving the other. An ignorance that was soon deeply regretted.

For behind him was the Telmarine Joseph. He had been awakened from a light, and completely unintentional, sleep upon hearing the sound of someone whistling. He, with a sword in hand, followed the sound to find that the whistler was in fact a man he had never seen before; just wandering the corridors, whistling no doubt.

Joseph, not about to let this obvious intruder get away, followed him; more then a few times making loud sounds that the man in front surprisingly didn't see to notice. Atleast, not until Joseph was right behind him.

The itchy feeling one gets when they believe someone is looming near them is not easily dismissed, not even by people in a distracted mental state. Which is exactly why, upon feeling this feeling, Louis flipped his thin body around; the face of an ugly Telmarine standing about two feet away from him surprising his greatly. Although, to say that at this point it was a bad surprise, would be a lie. Because the moment that Telmarine came into view Louis' heart started racing with an incredible excitement even he could not explain.

However, this excitement was quickly flipped to dreadful shock as he felt a sharp, excruciating pain circulate through his abdomen; stomach to back. The cool metal of a weapon chilled Louis' insides horribly as he looked down to see the long sword embedded in his flesh. It seemed that in the time it took Louis to acknowledge how everything, the Telmarine had managed to drive his sword through the man's stomach.

The sparkle in his eyes dulled to almost nothing and his lips no longer made the motion to whistle. Louis had been stabbed.

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**Not the best chapter ever, but I'm working hard to get part 2/ chapter 13 up soon!**

**BTW don't let the few cheesy aspects of this chapter discourage you, everything has a relevance (and i promise it is not just to make my characters look cool haha)  
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**I'll spend forever wondering if you knew, I am enchanted by your reviews :)  
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	13. A Secret Revealed, Retreats, and Silence

***DISCLAIMER I DON'T OWN CON ONLY MY CHARACTER**

**So heyyy here's chapter 13! (or chapter 12 part 2, whatever you prefer) I had said this would be really long, but I lied. I intended the next chapter to be part of it, but when it came down to it, it just seemed to fit better with ending where it does. Anywho, read, enjoy, and review! :D

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**Nights at the Telmarine castle were known for their eerie stillness. Even through the hordes of guards patrolling each day, a scent of restlessness circulated through the atmosphere. Which is why, perhaps, that when a loud female cry pierced the air, said patrolling guards were so quick to react, ringing the loud warning bells located in the castle towers. It was a matter of protocol that was very much in the Telmarines favor, for at that very moment an intrusion was in fact taking place.

The multiple Soldiers, who up until not had been fast asleep in their cots, leapt up with a peculiar amount of excitement. Their brains were full of hope, a hope that only one who had been grudgingly forced to stay behind as their comrades went out to the battlefield could possibly understand, that a battle would soon be underway.

Now the soldiers generally slept in their war outfits, save for their armor, so all that was needed was to throw on this protection, and grab one of the satisfactory weapons lined up neatly against the stone walls, before running out the door.

The Narnians and Pevensies, who had quickly escaped the bedroom of Lord Miraz, were very aware, thanks to a tip off from Caspian, about the Telmarine's speed. This knowledge, however useful, did not help the anxiety that came with the night not exactly going as plan. As a result, the group of Peter, Susan, Serena and Caspian were practically jolting down the ominously long hallways.

"Peter," Susan cried to her brother as their leering circumstances took over her very reason based brain, "We have to call it off!"

"No!" He yelled back to her, running sideways as a quick idea entered his mind, "You and Caspian hold them off, block the doors, anything! Serena and I will open the gate."

The sound of her name barely registered to the young girl as Peter yanked her hand and pulled her down the corridor. Susan and Caspian's perturbed expressions briefly entered her line of vision as the two fair haired children rounded a corner.

The new hallway was shorter than the previous one, but Peter found himself moving slower than before. The reason being that, to his dismay, the blonde girl behind him seemed strangely dazed. Her eyes were almost glazed over as he practically yanked her to walk faster. When his actions met no response, he let go of her and ran down the hallway, careful to make sure that her faint footsteps were still within earshot.

The perpendicular passage, which he was nearing by the second, was dressed in large windows. The moonlight streaming through the glass refreshed the area with illumination. This lightened hallway, though helpful, was arguably the worst thing that could have happened to the young king. For as he sped around the corner the pulses of precision and swiftness that had been moving through his body shattered into a million pieces upon the dark, cold, arid floor.

In its place, a desolate horror swept over Peter's whole being as he saw a short ponytail, the short dirty blonde ponytail he only knew one man in the whole world to possess. But, it wasn't this hairstyle that made the light haired boys stomach drop to the ground, but what was beneath it. For not one foot below, in the center of the man's back, was the undeniable pointed shape of the end of a sword; the normally silver metal now spotted with grotesque splatters of scarlet color.

Peter looked at the floor and silently mouthed the word "Louis," but no sound was able to escape his now dry mouth. Even worse than this sight, were the sounds of Serena's footsteps coming ever closer, for he feared what her reaction would be.

However, as he scanned over Louis' form again, he witnessed something that caused a mix of anger, disgust and shock to wash over his body.

For, just as the boy registered that Louis' was still standing upright, not something that one usually is still able to do upon being stabbed, he noticed that the man had begun subtly shaking. At first, Peter believed that he was seeing false images, but he changed his mind completely when a sound was attached to the movement.

Chuckling.

And not just any chuckling, _his _chuckling. The witty chortle that could only be associated with Louis' version of a giggle. Except, Peter observed, this laugh was full of something he had never heard in Louis' chuckle before; malevolent insanity.

As the sound grew louder, Peter could see the Telmarine's who stabbed Louis face grow sickeningly pale, his gloved hand falling of the hilt of his sword.

What Louis did next, which could have been considered the greatest instigator for emotion yet to be seen, occurred just as Serena rounded the corner. Seeing Louis raised the same horrified expression on her face as was on Peter's, except for a different reason.

Let it just be known that, if in his normal state of mind, Louis never would have dreamed of doing what he did. It was, more now than ever, that the fighting potion swimming through his blood stream was causing him to think and act much more blood thirsty than his demeanor actually entitles him to be. It seemed that his general ability to enact common sense, and even think through his own actions, was almost completely demolished. For he grasped onto the hilt of the sword embedded in his abdomen and wiggled it. He winced slightly under what must have been an intense pain as he pulled the weapon out of his flesh. He then, with a chuckle on his breath, whispered loudly to the ghostly white guard, "It's not going to be that easy."

And with that he slit the guard's throat; the horror-struck face he made forever covering his features as he plummeted to the ground, a clatter ringing off the windows and walls.

As Louis lightly kicked the Telmarine to make sure he was dead, Serena glanced at Peter, the expression on the boy's face made her head hang in shame.

"What. Was. That?"

Serena darted her eyes towards the boy. His face, his eyes, his words; they all seeped with an incredible amount of wrath that would have made the deadly sin himself shudder with fear.

When she didn't respond, he turned to her. "Why didn't he die?" His voice was no longer a quiet whisper, and the sound caused Louis, who had been cleaning the dirtied sword with the guard's shirt, to stiffen.

"Peter-"

"He should have died!" Peter interrupted the girl with an angry and anxious voice.

"Peter, I know-"

"You knew? It's illegal Serena!" The boy screamed, though an extremely loud whisper would probably have been a better classification.

"I know, I know, I know it is. But-" her almost frantic words were silenced by another round of loud bells.

"We have to go." Peter began, more calmly now, but angry nonetheless. "This has been an unnecessary consumer of time." As he made the move to walk away, Serena grabbed his shoulder.

"Please Peter, don't tell anyone. Please."

The boy turned around slowly, "And why shouldn't I?"

"Because….look, if you keep quiet," she took in a breath, "I'll tell you everything, I mean _everything_ once we've returned. Okay?" Her voice was scratchy as she said the last word, the bargain not one she had ever wished to resort to.

Peter looked at the girl, her normally proudly held head now lowered below his collar bone. Her face, her eyes, her words; they were all filled with a despair that he could simply not get himself to turn away from. He sighed,

"Fine, but I'm starting to think that you should stay with him. Heal him or something." His voice quieted a bit, his acceptance of her odd ability a bit uncharacteristic.

Serena looked at Louis. The man, though still facing purposely away from them, was bending forward slightly, his hand placed upon his wound. Although the gash did not kill him, the pain it brought still remained, which is, arguably, just as worse.

As Serena continued to look at the poor man before her, she heard quick footsteps running in the other direction. Though this event, so to speak, was a momentary speed bump, the time frame in which it all happened was only a few minutes.

She walked towards the wincing man, a few small noises escaping his lips as the king ran out of sight. Her thoughtful strides towards him made a very slight echo amongst the empty hallway as she said his name, "Louis."

The man slowly turned around. If it had not been for the bleeding wound, which his now red hand was failing to cover, Serena would have most definitely been drawn to the look in his eyes. The gleam that was so common in the man's irises was now saturated with discredit.

The two were silent was Serena placed her hand over his disgustingly warm abdomen. Her act of healing him was both a wonderful and disheartening thing to the tall man.

After a few moments Louis felt the amount of pain decreasing, and then finally disappearing all together. He sighed and ran his hand over his healed stomach as Serena released him, wiping her hand on the skirt of her dress.

"What you did was stupid."

Louis kept his eyes on her as she averted his, "I'm sorry."

"And obvious too." The incline in her voice raised another sigh a Louis throat.

"I couldn't, control myself." He said slowly before his face fell blank. "I could not think straight. I just got this urge, this wonderful, yet horrible sensation. I could not manage my body. It's hard to explain."

"That's an excuse."

"Well, I hate to say it, but it may be the one you end up using too."

Serena furrowed her light eyebrows at his, this not at all being the counter she was expecting. "What?"

"The potion. I have to apologize my dear; I did not consider the side effects as I should have, but, in all fairness, there were not any listed."

Serena felt the blood drain out of her face, "The potion? Wait, have your arms hurt at all?" She rubbed her forearms instinctively as she recalled the lactic acid like pain that had shot up them not a few minutes ago.

Louis put his hand upon his own arm, and replied, a hint of regret in his words, "Yes I did. I figure that when you get stronger, your muscles do as well; which would explain the pains." He then placed a long finger, caked with bits of dried blood, to his angular chin, pondering another thought.

"Yes, that makes sense, but then why the confusion, how would that help us be better in combat?" To any normal person these would have quickly been disregarded as side effects, but, not at all to Serena's knowledge, the potion book in which he had obtained the recipe was old and not well documented. He needed to be absolutely certain that these effects were not, instead, a deadly reaction that he had brought upon himself and the girl.

After a momentary silence, Serena closed her eyes and let out an exasperated sigh of realization. "Fighter's mentality."

"Okay..."

"That book you gave me, and Peter, all talked about something called fighter's mentality, or basically just the mindset you have to be in. The book stated that you cannot ever be fazed by what's going on around you. And Peter said how you must look at each person you kill as an evil, less than an actual creature; which would explain him." She averted her gaze to the dead Telmarine currently still lying limp on the ground.

Louis followed her gaze and replied, "Yes, I don't even remember killing him, to be honest."

"You don't?"

"No." He chuckled now, though it wasn't a very hearty laugh. "It's kind of a blur actually, like I was sleepwalking, although, it brought me an immense euphoric feeling, I do remember that much. Look, Serena, I don't think you should continue here."

The girl looked back at the man, "What? Why not?"

It only took a softening of Louis' eyes to make her understand. She straightened her back, "I'll be fine. You on the other hand, are not."

She then did a quick turn around and walked to the nearest window. The large glass pane was attached to the wall by the same means as the small one in the study. She unlocked the little black hinge and swung it open, a quiet creak humming from the contact. Once opened, Serena stuck her head out into the chilled night air, and whistled. Although the small ringing sound would be almost impossible for human's to hear, the ears of gryphons were drastically more sensitive; the noise attracting their attention from wherever they were hovering. And, just as expected, in no more than 30 seconds, a lovely ash colored gryphon flew to the window pane. Serena placed her hand on the animal's beak and made a signal with her finger for it to give her a moment. She then turned to face Louis, who, upon seeing the creature, stated, sounding almost offended,

"I'm not even wounded anymore."

"No, but I don't think you should really stay here." She said, referencing heavily to what has just.

Louis, upon a moment's thought, nodded, but added, a chuckle on his lips, "You know it's strange, I've been alive for over 300 years, and yet you always treat me as if I was a child."

Serena smiled bitterly, "That is because you insist on acting like one."

Louis chuckled at this as he walked to the window and, assisted by Serena and the animal, hoisted himself atop its feathery back. Before flying away, however, he replied to her statement,

"That is because youth is wasted on the young, my dear. And I, being a great exception to the rules of aging, have both age and youth. So, why in Aslan's name should I waste it?"

And with that the gryphon flew away, carrying Louis with it.

Once his form had become a small speck in the night sky, Serena ran down the hallway, her mind slowly losing control over her body as she unsheathed her sword, the sounds of battle growing louder and louder.

* * *

"I've never stayed up all night before, it's really very exciting." A joyful giggle escaped Lucy's British lips as she scooted herself down the stone table, ending in a very childish scrunched up position.

"It's not all great; you get really tired the next day." Lilly replied, copying Lucy as she sat next to the young queen. She giggled a bit, but it was clear her laughter forced. Lucy noticed this and put a soft hand on the blonde girl's knee,

"Promise me that someday we'll stay up all night on a normal night. Maybe then it will be more fun!"

Lily laughed for real this time, the glee of the young brunette girl was very soothing, "I promise, and I'm sorry to be such a downer."

Over the number of hours since the troops had left for the raid, young Lily and Lucy had found themselves becoming close friends, in the odd little way that old the closest of companions do.

After the departure, Lily, although restraining herself from tears, was moping sadly around the How, her usual kindred spirit seeming to have gone away with the sun. Lucy, who was not as happy as usual but still hung onto her friendly demeanor, approached the sad girl, and began a conversation with her. They spoke of Narnia, previous battles, siblings, and other random topics, and during their conversing, much like Lily and Edmund had, the two girls realized how very alike they were, despite Lily being about two years older, and a budding friendship began to bloom.

Amidst their multiple subjects, many words of comfort were spoken, to and from each girl. Both were worried about their families and didn't have their hearts completely in favor of this mini skirmish.

"It's fine, I'm worried too." Lucy replied, a consoling smile playing on her youthful lips.

As Lily returned her smile, as an echo sounding very similar to footsteps began erupting from the corridor. The two girls glanced up towards the doorway, a shadow appearing in the torch lit hall. In a matter of moments, a figure appeared.

"Louis!"

* * *

All that could be heard was the clashing of swords, stomping of feet, and yells of voices that all meshed together to become one conjoined sound. Her mind was so focused, yet so oblivious to what was going on around her. The metal object in her hand felt like an extension of her arm and she flung it around almost gracefully, her chemically strengthened body seemed to have a mind of their own as it killed Telmarine after Telmarine. But, that is just it. Her physical body was moving and fighting, but her head was someplace else. Yes, she was fully aware of each fight she was in, but to say that she completely was in control of her actions would be a lie. For, as she flung her weapon around like a skilled warrior, her brain was off in a conscious dreamland. A kind of euphoric state that sent her psyche on a blurred roller coaster ride, as if the images before her were no more than dreams passing in front of her eyes. Which is why, it is completely fair to say, that she did not hear nor acknowledge in the slightest when a young High King screamed that they were to fall back and retreat.

Peter watched in a pride smashing horror as his men were being outnumbered and over taken by the Telmarines. Though it hurt him to do so, he decided that if they stayed any longer they would surely all be killed.

The gate, which he had hastily opened in order for his troops to enter the castle, was now being held aloft by a particularly courageous Minotaur, the Telmarines having found a way to unlock it. The young king knew that they needed to escape as fast as they could before the gate officially closed.

The fight was taking place in the inner ward, and there was an extreme chaos erupting from everyone as they all attempted to follow their king's orders.

Susan was offered a hand by the centaur Glenstorm, who pulled the young queen onto his bare back. As they rode out to safety, she called back to her brother, "Caspian!"

"I'll find him!" Peter yelled in replied frantically. He darted his eyes around to try and find the prince, gesturing to other narnians to escape while he was doing so. Through his panicked eyes he could see Serena sword fighting with multiple Telmarine soldiers. If he hadn't been in such a compromising state of mind, he would have been taken aback by her enormous amount of skill, skills which she hadn't shown to possess earlier that day.

He yelled another, "fall back and retreat!" but she didn't seem to notice. As he screamed this, Caspian came bursting through two large iron doors, himself upon a horse, accompanied by his professor on another and one other without a rider. The two men ceased their riding as they neared Peter, their faces angled towards the Lord Miraz and his right hand men standing upon a balcony. One cannot imagine how much hatred they must have felt towards them.

As Miraz whispered something to his bearded comrade, Caspian hastily brought his other horse towards Peter, the boy screaming words of retreat to his remaining men.

As Caspian drew nearer, Peter ran to the empty horse, and skillfully leapt upon its saddled back. Above him the man Miraz' had whispered two held his hand above his head, a gesture signifying that he was about to give an order. But he seemed far too hesitant for Miraz, for the middle aged man grabbed his crossbow and screamed a loud, "Now!" and shot an arrow into the Minotaur's leg.

The creature groaned in pain as the weapon pieced its appendage, the gate shifting as it winced.

Peter and Caspian, more pressed than ever, galloped towards the gate. However, the blonde boy averted his direction when he saw familiar blonde curls still amongst the fighting men.

"Peter!" Caspian called frenetically as he rode out to safety.

"I'll be right there!" The boy replied, jutting his horse over to Serena.

She was still fighting incredibly, but appeared untainted, or even unaware of the orders he had been giving. Peter rode up beside the girl, ungracefully running his sword through the Telmarines she was battling at the moment, and scooped her up, placing his arms under hers as he hoisted her in front of him. She squirmed unhappily in his arms and screamed argumentatively to the boy, as if she wished to remain there.

Peter, although shocked by her actions, ignored her completely as he rode at an unprecedented fast pace through the gate.

Luckily for them, the moment they cantered through the gate the poor brave minotaur collapsed, the entryway closing on top of him.

As the gate loudly slammed down, Peter looked back at the sight of more than half of his narnians looking out at him between each hole, screaming and pleading in fear. It seemed at this point in time, when the greatest feelings of sadness, regret, and anger began to be felt, Serena was brought out of her head. Louis had said that the potion would wear off once the battle was over, and right then, with the nods of soldiers, both out and in, and the distraught expressions on everyone's face, the battle had indeed ended. It is almost unfair, that one would emerge back into reality at such a horrible point in time.

Peter jumped his horse over the draw bridge, which was in the midst of returning to an upright position, and galloped away from the castle along with the rest. Upon reaching the outskirts of the castle, Serena, who Peter's arms had been tightly clasped around, began to twitch and scratch the hands around her waist, for she was unaware as to whose they were.

"Get off me!"

"Hey, what are you doing?" Peter asked the girl, releasing his grip around her slightly. Her odd inquiry startled him, but his mind was not completely focused on the matter.

At the sound of his voice, Serena softened her body, realizing she wasn't being captured by Telmarines. Speaking of which, she looked around, and flinched dramatically as she realized that not only was she no longer in the castle, but was on a horse, fleeing quickly away from it. She turned her face as best she could in Peter's direction,

"What's going on?" When she didn't get a response she turned her head further. The boy's mouth was stuck in a line, though the edges were rounded slightly, almost sadly. His eyes were drooped but concentrated on what he was looking at. She had not seen the terrified faces of the narnians stuck within the castle, for if she had, she would have most definitely understood why he looked that way.

"Peter, what's going on?" She repeated, the boy glanced at her, a surge of hate and sadness running through his blue eyes, but did not answer. Above them a gryphon carrying Edmund flew by, drawing Peter's eyes towards him.

Serena turned back frontwards, horribly confused as to what was going on. Right then the gryphon flew closer to their horse, the boy upon it addressing Serena, a worry entwined in his low voice,

"Where is Louis?"

The girl looked up to Edmund, the flapping of the gryphon's wings sending a wind in her direction causing her to blink. The last thing she remembered was Louis flying away on a gryphon similar to the one he rode.

"He went home."

Edmund let out a sigh of relief, but then inquired, "Wait, why?"

Serena could feel Peter fidgeting behind her as she thought quickly of an excuse, "he was worried about Lily, and he said he believed she needed him. I'm sure she's fine, just once Louis gets an idea in his head there is not talking him out of it." She added as Edmund's eyes flashed with concern. She added a small smile as he nodded and flew back into the air.

As the gryphon left, Serena found herself thinking back on Louis. She really did not remember anything since that occurred, which is why she repeated her question to Peter, a little more sternly now,

"What is going on?"

"We failed," he grunted through his teeth, "half of our men our dead. And you would be too, if it wasn't for me. So I would appreciate it if you did not play dumb."

With that they both fell silent. Serena hated not knowing what she had done, but the air floating above everybody did not lead her to ask anyone this question. All she could think about was how Peter had said they failed the raid, many of their men were dead and that, the reason why unknown to her, he had saved her from suffering the same fate. All she could feel was his arms still wrapped around her, almost mocking her longing to know the reasons for his mood. All she could hear were their footsteps, louder than ever in the terrible silence surrounding the group. All she could say was nothing, her mouth forcibly kept shut as she sat upon the horse. The already long walk home seemed to stretch a thousand miles longer as she stared ahead, wishing for the first time in her life that she could be sad, for if she was feeling upset, maybe the quiet would not have been so horrible.

* * *

**A/N So there it is, chapter 13 :) I know it's really not that great but battle scenes are a huge pain to write **

**I plan on getting the next chapter out soon, and I feel it will make this one make more sense. So hold onto your hats!**

**Any and all reviews are loved :D  
**


	14. Returning, Reasons, and Promises

***DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN C.O.N. ONLY MY OWN CHARACTERS**

**It's been a long week full of turkey dinners and pie but I am glad to say that i have Chapter 14 up! **

**I would just like to give a shout out to all those who have reviewed: THANK YOU SO MUCH! Your comments continue to make my day :D**

**Anywho, on a less cheesy note, on with the chapter!**

* * *

It's strange that one would have a peaceful sleep after taking part in a battle. Many would believe that horrible pictures would blink through their heads instead of lovely ones. Images of meadows and glistening lakes blinked in front of Serena's eyes as she dreamt. The lateness of the hour and the gentle bounce of the horse in which she sat had soothed her into a slumber. It should be noted that she was the only one to have drifted off, although to say that everyone else was fully awake would be less than factual.

Peter, who was seated behind the sleeping girl, his arms meeting around her waist to refrain her from falling off their horse, realized she was out when she leaned uncomfortably into his chest. He gently shifted her body slightly; her head now angled inward instead of outward, and left her like that.

It was not until Edmund, who now rode properly upon a centaur, addressed the condition of Trumpkin, who had fallen off a roof during the battle and now lay limp in the arms of a minotaur, that Peter had had any intention of waking her up.

"Pete, Caspian told me that she healed him," Edmund pointed out, gesturing to the blonde girl lying on his brother's chest, "And I thought, since he's kind of in a life and death situation right now, that maybe she could heal Trumpkin too."

The minotaur holding the dwarf was walking not two feet away.

"Well I think that's a great idea, but if you can't already see, she is kind of asleep."

"Well then wake her up." Edmund replied as if it was the most obvious thing in the world, which it was.

Peter blinked and let out a quiet, "oh, of course," and slowly and gently, almost too gently, un-twined his hands and pushed her shoulder.

"Wake up Serena."

The girl's only response to this was a groan and gripping her hand around Peter's shirt.

The boy looked up to his brother, unsure of what to do next.

Edmund rolled his eyes at his sibling's sissyness, reached his arm over to Serena and shook her hard, yelling, "wake up!" so loud that the narnians around them glanced up.

Serena awoke with a jolt, making Peter's arms tighten around her so that she stayed put. "Woah, what is going on?"

"Trumpkin needs you to heal him."

The girl looked up to Peter, moving back a few inches upon realizing how close she was to him, before glancing over to the wounded dwarf. She let out an annoyed guttural noise as she moved her body forward and nodded.

The centaur Edmund was seated upon moved to the side as Trumpkin was brought towards Serena. He had scratches all over his small face and had tears in his clothing, although, it would be suspected that most of his wounds were internal.

She moved her hand over the small man, her eyelids shut tight in concentration. After a minute or so, Trumpkin's eyes flew open in shock and a cough escaped his lips. As he regrouped himself he looked over to Peter and Serena, his eyes widening upon seeing the look on the latter's face. He said nothing, but nodded his head in thanks, and was put on the ground, trudging his little legs forward upon contact.

"Well he's grateful." Peter said sarcastically.

"It's fine," Serena replied, still looking at the dwarf as he pushed past the narnians in his way.

The next few minutes were silent, meaning silent between the two on the horse. Narnians around them, and humans, were all having quiet conversations with each other.

A minute or two more past before Peter spoke, perhaps showing that his mind had not registered that time had gone by,

"So you can heal."

Serena paused a second before responding flatly with, "yes."

"I didn't know faeries had the power of healing." Peter stated, a small laugh on his tongue.

"There's a lot you don't know about faeries."

"Clearly."

It was not the word itself that angered Serena, but the way in which he said it; with a haughty tone referencing more than just their simple conversation. She repressed the intense longing to elbow him, or snap at him with one of the comebacks currently circulating through her head. But he held something delicate that she did not want to break. He knew about Louis, what he could do, or in reality couldn't do, and she feared that any unsatisfactory or careless slip-of-the-tongue would cause him to scream what he had seen to the world. And even reacting to his aggravating comments was not worth that kind of exposure.

So she just sat there upon the horse, gazing at trees slowly illuminated by the light growing ever brighter over the horizon. Dawn was creeping across the sky, and as she looked at it, the gentle bump of the horse's steps swaying her head slightly, she couldn't help but wonder if Louis was looking at it too, dawn always was his favorite time of day.

* * *

"Do you think there on their way home, yet?" A young blonde girl asked her brunette friend.

"Hopefully. No, I'm sure they are!" The brown hair girl replied upon seeing the blonde's worried expression, the girl hugging her doll closer to her chest.

"Louis said he'll let us know the moment he sees them." Lily stated, almost more of a reminder to herself.

The two were sitting on the stone table, recounting stories and memories that each figure engraved on the stone walls reminded them of, more of a time passer than anything else.

Louis had arrived a few hours ago, stating simply that he was injured, and decided to return home. Lucy had offered to heal him with her cordial, but he had kindly denied this, stating that Serena had in fact healed him earlier that evening. This, of course, lead an excited Lucy to ask many questions about this feat of hers, ultimately finding out that the sisters were, in fact, part faerie. (Winning an "I thought you guys seemed faerie-like" from Lucy)

Lily had found it almost astonishing that Serena would do something so revealing, but shrugged it off, happy that she could share what she was with her new friend.

For a moment Lucy, in her almost humorous excitement, decided she would cut herself, just so Lily could heal her. Of course, Lily refused aggressively, but the whole spectacle was very amusing to Louis, who just stood above them, chuckling his ponytailed-head off.

After a few hours playing of their game with them, his memories from the different carvings so cryptic and bizarre that they caused the two girls to erupt in giggles, Louis decided to head upstairs, figuring dawn would begin soon. He left abruptly with that, but added upon leaving the room that he would call if he saw any soldiers appearing in the meadow.

"So what about that fawn over there?" Lucy asked Lily, her finger outstretching in a point towards a very large statue in the form of a satyr.

Lily put her index under her chin in thought, and after a moment or two moved it upwards in the air in an 'I got it!' motion.

"It reminds me of Mr. Tumnus!"

Lucy's eyes widened at this, "Really! Why? Did you know him?"

"No," Lily replied, almost sadly, before continuing in a cheery voice, "But I did read about him, a lot actually!"

"Oh," Lucy face dropped slightly at this remark. She had wondered if maybe, somehow, this girl would have had some news about her old friend. She then laughed slightly, and said, "You sure do a lot of reading dontcha then!"

Lily laughed, "Oh yeah, me and my sister alike. We have so many books."

"Where do you get them all?"

"Louis, actually. He'd buy them for us. Actually, most of the books were about you guys, funny enough." She giggled now, more to herself though, before looking back to Lucy.

"Where are all these books now?" The brown haired girl asked, sounding genuinely curious.

"At our house," Lily replied slowly.

"Oh, is that by the ruins of Cair?"

"Well kind of, it's close." There was something odd in her voice that Lucy was quick to pick up on.

"You guys just left right away; you didn't take anything with you!"

"It's okay, we've read them a hundred times, and there's nothing really else there that we cared for." She tugged gently at the necklace around her neck. Their jewelry was really all that mattered to them. The other pieces she had been wearing were currently sitting in a draw along with her sister's, safe in their room.

Lucy's soft eyes shone of care, but she decided to change the topic slightly.

"It must be weird then, to be with us."

Lily giggled with Lucy, "You have no idea." She put her hand on her elbow, and leaned in closer to Lucy. "I think Serena feels weirder than I do. She's read so much about you guys, especially Peter. My goodness it must feel bizarre!" The two then burst into giggles, trying to conceal their mirth by placing hands over their mouths.

As the two managed to regroup themselves, a thought popped into Lucy's head, a simple, childish thought.

"Lily, what will you do after all this? Will you go back home?"

The blonde's face fell a bit, she had never actually thought about this at all. "I don't know, I suppose. I'd rather not though."

Without really meaning it to, Lucy took this as a marvelous idea!

"Well then you two can live with us! You, Serena, and Louis too!" An enormous amount of excitement was growing on the young queens face. Lily tilted her head slightly, a huge wave of warmth running through her being.

"Really? T-that would be wonderful! Great actually, but a-"

She was cut off as Lucy threw her arms around her, it was incredible how much force the small girl's embrace had, Lily feeling as though she would suffocate from it, but at the moment she could not have cared less.

Watching over their possessions did not seem half as pointless now.

The two released one another, excited expressions plastered on their faces. They looked like young girls who had just told they would spend summer vacation together, the enthusiasm for the future almost unbearable.

Lily and Lucy continued to giggle and converse quickly, their hands attached, speaking about how they would live together, a random burst of laughter escaping each one as the other came up with a spectacular idea.

They were so caught up in this array of happiness and giggles, that they did not even notice when Louis entered the room. It took a few moments, but after a couple failed attempts, the man finally gained their attention, chuckling,

"I hate to interrupt your little soiree, but their back."

* * *

A loud trumpet was sounded by one of the fawns walking in the group, the loud noise meant to signal their return. Peter, who had long since dismounted his horse, actually, it was really a half mile before reaching the meadow, for he believed, as he told Serena, who was very confused when he handed her the rains and haphazardly jumped off the moving animal, that he wished to be the first to greet the narnians awaiting them. The almost resentful tone he used made it clear that he, whether or not it would ever be admitted, was in fact doing something he did not want to do, but had to do, since he was in fact their leader. Serena could not help but admire him a little for this, though she was still unaware as to what exactly had gone on, bits and pieces of High King Peter were splashing through his proud exterior. However, as they neared the How, it became apparent that, since Peter gave Caspian a glare as he trudged ahead of him, perhaps he was not going to take the blame for himself, but rather hand it over to the young prince.

As the group of solemn soldiers neared the How further, narnians, along with Lucy, Lily, and Louis emerged. These three L named people's smiles, which they had been wearing upon their bright faces, faded and dimmed as they saw the expressions upon everyone else.

Lucy was the first to speak once the dismal group had entered ear shot,

"What happened?"

"Ask him."

"Peter!" Susan cried to her brother, a response that many of those surrounding were most likely thinking in their heads. How could he blame this all of Caspian?

"Me?" The Prince replied, as though Peter had just accused him of a horrible crime. "You could have called it off there was still time."

Serena was listening intently as she dismounted her horse, little snippets of what had happened coming out through their argument.

"No there wasn't thanks to you." Peter said to the prince, facing him sideways, as if he planned on walking away, "If you'd just kept to the plan those soldiers might be alive right now."

"And if you just stayed here like I suggested they definitely would be!"

Serena looked away as Edmund, who had just placed himself back on the ground, walked by her. She did not know why she hadn't thought of it sooner, this boy would of course be able to quench her curiosity. His eyes were glued on what was ahead of him as she latched onto Edmund's shoulder, making the boy to flinch a bit in shock. He looked at her with puzzlement, signaling her to divulge what she wanted to.

"What exactly happened last night?"

He turned to face her fully, his expression still confused. "You don't know?"

"No I-I can't remember." She stated regretfully.

Edmund furrowed his eyebrows once more before replying in a whisper that mirrored the girl's,

"Well, from what Susan told me, Caspian went to Miraz' room, which wasn't in the plan. She said you were there actually; it's when she told me about you healing him, that's really cool actually. I was wondering- " He ceased his rambling upon receiving a glare from the girl. He coughed, his eyes flickering between her and the arguing boys.

"Anyways after that Peter still opened the gate, even though Susan and Caspian's pleaded him not to. And they fought, but the gate ended up being closed and almost half our men were left inside and STOP IT!"

Serena jumped at his random screech, the yell directed at Peter and Caspian, who had begun yelling at each other about not being a good leader and fathers. The two boys paused at the sound of Edmund's cry, looking up to him with stunned faces.

The momentary silence was ended, not with more fighting though, but with a small, familiar voice breathlessly saying her sister's name.

Lily, just now seeing the figure of her sibling, ran to her quickly, wrapping her arms around the taller girl upon reaching her. Her action seemed to spark something, for as soon as the blonde girl had exclaimed, other narnians began yelling out the names of their loved ones, as if hoping to find them, or in fact seeing them amongst the crowd.

As the meadow was filled with noise, whether it be laughter, tears, or the like, Caspian headed inside along with many others, including the dwarf Nikabrik and the centaur Glenstorm.

Peter gave Lucy a hug, though it did not feel as loving as her embraces usually did. When he let her go, he watched as she ran over to Susan and Edmund, the latter currently reuniting with Lily. He stared at them all until he heard a slight rustling to his right. He turned to see Louis, the man standing nonchalantly beside him kicking the grass rhythmically with his foot. His gray eyes were surveying the group as a small smile played upon his thin face. Peter made a motion to look away, but just before he could Louis chuckled, angling his face towards the young king.

"They say every 'Hello' ends with a 'Goodbye.' Well, as true as this statement is, it does not make the next 'Hello' any less incredible." He then moved his bony hand to his head and positioned it as if he were wearing a hat, and tipped it forward, giving Peter a polite, "Your Majesty," before starting towards the crowd.

Peter watched with a blank expression as the tall man walked towards Serena, Lily, and Edmund. The man gave the older girl a small hug, which Peter noticed was being held a little too long for what he would have expected. If he didn't know better, he would have thought he saw Louis place his head towards Serena's ear, as if the reason for their prolonged embrace was so he could whisper something to the girl. This site made anger rise in Peter once more as images from earlier that night flooded into his head. He turned swiftly in a one-hundred and eighty degree angle and walked into the How, not wanting to look at anyone anymore. He remembered what she had told him a few hours prior, she said she would tell him everything, and he intended to keep her to her word.

Serena looked blankly in front of her, staring unseeingly at the doorway to the How. She did, however, notice Peter walking angrily inside, but she acknowledged it as nothing.

Louis had recently extracted his arms from around her body, placing them now momentarily around Edmund, Susan, and other returning soldiers. Though he was gone, the words he had spoken to her during their embrace still rang around in her head,

"I shall need to speak with you in a few minutes. We must sort all this out."

She felt her head moving upward and her eyes latching upon the ledge sticking out of the How. Not wanting to stay within this group any longer, her legs began walking her towards it. She decided that having a view to look at would be a relaxing way to think a bit before her father figure came to speak with her.

* * *

A tall man made his way up a staircase, the same one he walked up every morning. His thin legs ascended each rocky step with ease though thoughts flooded his ageless mind. He wondered where he had gone wrong. His plan for that night seemed so foolproof in his head, which was, most likely, the exact reason for its failure. His slender feet reached the top step as countless regrets and wrongs, many of which had seemingly outlived their time in his brain, pounded through him like sludge through a pipe. He could only hope to make sure his girls, the only two beings alive he still loved, were able to overcome his mistakes. With a breath, and a smile forcibly growing on his face, he walked onto the ledge.

Serena flinched slightly, though not harshly for she knew she would not be alone for long, as she heard footsteps behind her. Feeling no need to turn around and identify who stood behind, she stated,

"Hello Louis."

"Hello my dear." He took a few long strides and seated himself down gracefully, legs flung over the side, unlike hers, which remained neatly crossed.

A rather uncomfortable silence followed. Louis, being the way to was, was not unaccustomed to such prolonged quiet, and in fact relished every opportunity in which he could break it. Serena was not used to his inability to speak and break said quiet, so the two sat awkwardly, both waiting for Louis to think of something. However, much to his surprise, it was Serena who broke it.

"That potion blocked my memory; I can't remember anything of the battle."

Louis placed his hand under his chin, looking rather knowledgeable.

"I suppose your mind was clouded, so that your body could take over." He paused for a moment and glanced at Serena, her eyes egging him to continue.

"This morning, as I sat here watching the dawn, I read the description of the potion more thoroughly. Let me read it to you." He stuck his hand into his vest and pulled out a familiar old book. He carefully flipped to a page with a small piece of paper stuck into it, one of three Serena noted. As the book was opened up fully, his finger having found the place in the text it was looking for, Louis cleared his throat, and read,

"The consummation of this potion is, but not limited to, those who wish to enhance their combat abilities in every way possible, be it with the mind or the body. The liquid will provide those with the euphoria every warrior should experience whilst engaging in warfare." He then closed the book hastily and stuffed it back into his vest, a little too quickly, Serena thought.

"So, what does that mean exactly?"

He chuckled softly, "It means that I should have read the fine print. When it said _mind_ I figured it simply meant that it enhances your alertness. Of course, we know now that it does just the opposite. And I did not take the euphoria it spoke of quite as seriously as I ought to have. I must once again apologize for my carelessness"

Serena diverted her gaze as his voice softened, looking back towards the picturesque view. "That all makes sense; although it doesn't do us much good now does it?" Her vocal tone was graced with a hateful, sarcastic twang.

Louis let out a breathy sigh, "You mean that boy that seems to be the basis of all our problems, don't you?" He chuckled a bit, the corners of his mouth rising teasingly at her. "Well, I suppose we'll have to deal with him the way you previously suggested. Tell him everything."

Serena opened her eyes wide, but then brought them back to their normal size. "I wasn't actually planning on doing that-"

"Oh, but you must! I think he is expecting it."

Serena gave him a quizzical glance, the amount of joy he found at this confused her greatly.

"You really want me to tell him everything? _Everything?_"

Louis' smile faded into a line. He leaned closer to the girl and extended his finger, his voice mirroring that of someone giving very specific instruction,

"Only what he asks."

"But-"

She would have continued her statement if it hadn't been for one blonde haired king walking through the open doorway. He had his hand placed upon his forehead, fingers digging into the area above his eyebrows. His eyes were fastened to the floor as he took a few steps, pausing however, and slowly moving his eyes upward; giving a little jolt upon realizing that he was very much, not alone.

"Oh, hello there."

A small star shot through Louis' eye as he glanced at Serena, the smile toying at his lips all making her feel horribly uncomfortable with what he was planning.

There was a small silence in which they all stared at each other, the encounter awkward for all but one of them. Louis, who had once again obtained his ability to break these times of inarticulateness, flung his legs on top of the rock and stood up.

"Well, I think I should be going now. Don't ask me why, for I will have no answer." He chuckled under his breath and glanced at Serena, who responded with some nonverbal argumentative expressions. Louis simply winked at her with a sparkling eye before waltzing back into the How, pausing for a moment to tip his head to Peter.

The boys' addled expression at the man's departure molded back into a hard one. His blue eyes narrowed and his mouth formed a straight line. He took in a silent deep breath and walked towards Serena, who had uneasily moved herself to once again face the meadow.

"Does he really think himself to be funny?" Peter asked upon sitting down beside her. The harsh tone of his voice brought Serena to face him.

"He just tries to be lively. Maybe you should try it sometime." She mumbled the last part to herself, but whether or not he overheard, her comment was ignored.

"Lively? I wouldn't call him that per say... I believe insane with a bizarre sense of humor is a more fitting description."

He laughed a bit; glancing to his right to see if she was doing the same, she wasn't…He calmed his face down, the air of seriousness once again being established. There was a slight pause before Peter spoke, his addition to the conversation definitely one that could be considered an ice-breaker,

"You fought amazingly last night. More amazingly then you ever fought with me…"

"Are you suggesting something?" Serena replied, sounding a bit more offended than she meant to.

"No, of course not," he looked out at the sky, his hand placed firmly under his chin, "but it is a bit worrisome that you did not notice when I was calling a retreat. You could have very well died you know." The emphasis he put on the word _died_ made a sense of shame pulse through Serena's veins.

"I know," she began quietly, awkwardly even, "thank you by the way, for saving me." She gave him a weak smile when he turned sharply to her, his mouth hanging open a bit.

"No problem." There was a small crack in the seriousness of his face, a slight speckle of embarrassment coming through as he looked at her during small silence following. In that pause, in which his eyes seemed to be locked on hers, he noticed the swimming again. The mystery in her irises had almost disappeared, her faerie origin taking away most of their mysterious essence. She blinked then, taking Peter out of his momentary thoughts. He coughed slightly, bringing his hand to his neck, as if straightening his invisible tie.

"The way you were fighting also reminds me about how Louis killed that soldier, he didn't seem to me as a very blood thirsty man." He jutted his head towards the door as he said Louis' name.

Serena gave an awkward giggle, "Yeah, that was kind of weird."

"Kind of," Peter began, picking idly at his nails, "I think being stabbed then automatically killing the soldier that stabbed you, with his own blade might I add, is a little more than weird. Of course, not dying in the first place is a little bit bizarre isn't it?" He put an extra amount of force on the word _bizarre,_ flicking a piece of dust out from his short fingernail as he did so.

Serena bent up her legs and placed her hands on her knees. The bile in his words was easily detected.

"Look I know It's strange, but he has his reasons-"

"_Strange? _Ha ha, I would say more like _unnatural_!"

The girl gave him a glare before tapping her hands on her knees, "Fine, I know it's _unnatural, _but he has his reasons-"

"Reasons, oh what reasons could those be? He wanted to live forever? Wanted to cheat death in battle? 'Cause he _clearly_ did that!" The resentment in his words was no longer covered, coming out through his teeth with each dictated syllable.

Serena repressed the urge to scream at him, "His reasons aren't like that-"

"Then what are they!"

"I don't know!" She yelled, her face clenched with frustration. Peter leaned back a bit at her outburst as she lowered her hands, which had been shot into the air.

"I don't know, ok? I don't know." She began, calmly now. "I don't know. But all I do know is that you have to keep what you saw secret, ok? You can't tell anyone, not even your family." He voice was crackly, like she was trying to hold back tears.

Peter softened his face, though not enough that he would appear to have given in.

"And why should I? Hmm? Why shouldn't I punish Louis for doing something unnatural, and _illegal?"_

Serena turned towards him fully now, her legs placed under her bottom.

She leaned closer, her eyes appearing damp and anger filled, though pleading at the same time. She spoke in a harsh tone,

"Because what good will it do? He can't die, remember? He's already tortured by that. Why make him sit in a cell for eternity? How will it help the world! He's not hurting anyone, I fact he's _helping _us! Lily and I would have nothing without him."

Peter searched her face, "But you hate him, don't you? He already leaves, why would you care?"

Serena sat back and ran a hand through her hair, which she noticed had become rather messy. As she patted down her curly locks she gave him a flat, solemn answer,

"For the same reason he _needs _to come back, for the same reason he _doesn't _leave and never return. Because if he was gone forever, Lily will be too."

Peter's eyes widened, "Wait, what do you mean Lil-"

"There you are! Thank Aslan I found you!"

Serena and Peter looked up to see Edmund standing breathlessly by the doorway, a look of urgency plastered on his freckled face.

The dark haired boy made plaintive gestures for them to stand up and follow him. As the two did what he asked, Peter inquired as to why he looked so pressed. Edmund stated that he would explain on the way, but that they had to go now.

Peter and Serena nodded in agreement, but caught a quick glimpse at each other before following the younger boy. The girl's face was painted with look plead, begging Peter one last time not to tell anyone. Although his expression may not have read exactly as so, Peter agreed, at least for now.

As he followed his brother down the narrow staircase, her words kept circulating in his mind.

_If he was gone forever, Lily will be too._

Peter could not begin to comprehend what that could mean, but figured that as of right now, given the loss he had just inadvertently caused, he was in no position to endanger someone's life. No matter how enigmatic the reason might be.

* * *

**A/N**

**So there you have it, 14! I hope everyone liked it! I aim to get chapters out at least once a week, but don't fret if it's a little more (or less even, fancy that!)**

**Anyways, if you liked it, or didn't like it for that matter, or have any comments or questions feel free to tell/ask me in your review! Anonymous reviews are welcomed as well ;)**

**Peace and Love  
**


	15. Witches, Wounds, and Warmth

***DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN THE CON, ONLY MY OWN CHARACTERS**

**I would like to apologize for the shortness of this chapter and for how long it took to update it. I've been sick and as a result have been attacked with make up work so my time for writing has been limited...the reason this chapter is so short is because it was either post this part now or post a longer chapter in a week or two and i figured it would be better if I at least posted part of it (though i wouldn't actually call this a part 1 or anything), better than nothing, right? So read, enjoy, and review :)

* * *

**

A chill.

A chill was creeping over their skin.

A chill so familiar to the four Pevenisies that they felt their nerves were betraying them, faking the sensation they had not felt in what seemed like a lifetime.

To the others, they only considered this chill to be an odd drop in the temperature. It was not until Peter and his siblings readied their weapons and sprinted into the Stone Table room, that they had any idea that this cold, this irritable chill, was something more than just a bizarre drop in temperature.

Upon taking them from their ledge, Edmund explained to Serena and Peter that Lily, whilst heading back to the Stone Table room to retrieve her doll, stumbled upon the sight of a hideous hag and a large, sardonic looking wolf entering in front of her. She had avoided being seen, but quickly ran to find Edmund, who had been in the midst of conversation with Lucy, and told them the whole thing. Fearing the worst, Edmund told her and Lucy to find Susan while he found Peter.

The groups ran into each other quite timely, bumping into Louis on the way, and quickly made their way towards the room in question.

As they headed down the long hallway, the air filled with a disturbing cold and the distant sound of cryptic chanting. The shrill voice producing the words only increased in volume as they grew ever closer, all those with weapons already holding them in their hands.

Once they had rounded the corner, they saw Caspian standing, his back facing them, towards a large ice block that had formed above the stone table, containing someone inside who looked frightfully familiar to all who had ever been awarded the displeasure of seeing her disgustingly beautiful face.

Without delay, Peter, Susan, and Edmund darted into the room, weapons out, and started attacking the hag, werewolf, and Nikabrik, the dwarf who up until now they had believed to be their friend, who had, most obviously, assisted in calling for her.

Serena, Lily and Louis, however, stood frozen for a few moments. Frozen, not in fear, but in awe. This woman was the White Witch. The same lady they had read about their whole lives. It did not occur to any of them, at the moment anyway, that this woman was in fact an evil murderer that needed to be stopped, so they simply remained where they were standing, staring.

"Serena, Louis, what are you doing!"

The two blinked and their stiff bodies thawed.

"Either help or leave!"

His words were spoken swiftly and breathlessly, he and his younger siblings already engaging in combat with the three wrong-doers.

Louis and Serena gave each other a wary eye, but unsheathed their swords - no one had let go of their weapons since returning - and ran into the escapade. Neither was exactly certain of what they would be doing, the potion which had fueled their fighting abilities having long faded away.

Serena hastily attempted to get Nikabrik away from Lucy, as Louis did some odd defensive movements. Although, in their rush, they had completely forgotten about Lily, the small girl still standing weaponless in the threshold.

She watched as the werewolf, the size of the creature horrifying enough, attacked Edmund, the boy successfully negating its lunges.

Peter was fighting with the hag, the ugly creature proving to be a formidable opponent. Lily could not help but notice the confused glances he gave to her family, as if he were expecting more from them than their simple defensive actions. At this time, the boy successfully threw the hag off him, the creature now lying limp on the ground, and turned his attentions over to Caspian, who was still standing, very feebly, in front of the encased white witch, his arm outstretched towards hers.

Lily watched as Peter ran to Caspian, and bumped him out of the circle, the Prince skidding a small distance across the floor from the impact.

As this was all going on, Lily had failed to notice that the werewolf, who had recently been deeply wounded by Edmund's blade, was limping towards her, an angry look in its black eyes.

She had only taken a few steps forward when she felt it. A searing pain skated across her back, the sound of claws ringing through her ears, the animal falling on the ground in exaustion behind her. Her breath seemed to be yanked away as she fell soundlessly to the ground.

That's when the world sped up. Things happened around her, the White Witch tempted Peter and the fighting continued, but Lily could not decide whether it was real life or a dream her mind was creating in its perplexed state. All she remembered hearing was the loud crash of glass and a familiar voice stating, "I know, you had it sorted," before the world turned into an inky black before her eyes.

"Lily!"

Edmund's cry broke the gazes towards Peter, the boy having almost brought the White Witch back to life, and diverted all eyes onto him, and who he was running over to. Lily was lying limp upon the ground, her back coated with blood.

Serena gasped her sister's name as she ran over to her, reaching the wounded girl a split second after the boy, who had already begun to inspect her wound, the deep gashes making his stomach turn.

Everyone in the room watched as Serena knelt by her sister, almost sliding into the position, and placed her hand on the girl's back. Although, the expression on Serena's face and her quick removal of her hand was, needless to say, not the actions anyone had been expecting.

"Well, aren't you gonna heal her?" Edmund asked, a plaintive tone entering his voice.

All Serena did was give him a sad look before sitting up on her knees and calling in a fretful manner, "Lucy, where is your cordial?"

The girl did not respond right away, either out of shock or in thought about where said cordial was. Either reason, the lack of an immediate answer lead to Serena calling again, much louder this time, her voice sounding crazed,

"Lucy, where is your cordial?"

"U-um I think I left it in my room-"

"Well go get it, now!"

An anger was welling in her voice, almost offending the young girl she was speaking to. Peter did not like, nor did he completely understand, her tone of voice.

"Why can't you just heal her!"

All she gave him was a glance, a look that Peter almost thought he detected a bit of regret in, when Louis practically leaped through the threshold yelling, "I have it!"

All eyes turned to the out of breath man, his arm stretched out in front of him, hand latched onto a round, scarlet object.

Serena's eyes widened in joyful disbelief; somehow, someway, Louis always managed to come just in time, although it had a tendency to be incredibly annoying, sometimes, it was just incredible.

The man ran over to Lily, whose head now lay flaccid on Edmund's knee, the boy periodically feeling her neck to make sure he felt a pulse, then letting out a slight breath of air when he did.

The moment Louis reached her he uncapped the cordial and poured a small drop of liquid in the girl's parted mouth. Whilst doing this, and subsequently capping the cordial when finished, he explained how he recalled witnessing Lucy place the cordial on a table, most likely an emotion based mishap, and ran to get it the moment Lily was struck. Serena could not help to feel a bit guilty at this. She had seen him run off, but figured it was just a cowardly act.

After a moment or two Lily coughed, her eyes fluttering open as her breathing steadied. Serena, not wanting to shock her sister, laughed quietly in delight and placed a soft hand on the girl's forehead.

"You OK?"

Lily focused her eyes on her sister. "Yes, I think so."

She made a movement to twist herself around, her back still facing the sky because no one wanted to dirty it, when she realized Edmund was in the way. She glanced at the boy as Louis stated, taking her hand, "I think this has been enough excitement for today, let's bring you to your room."

Serena nodded in agreement.

Lily agreed with a reluctant, "OK," and was pulled up by Louis. Edmund placed an involuntary hand on her back, then, once releasing her, inspecting it as if expecting to find it still bloody, as she got a firm footing on the ground.

With that Louis took her out of the room, pausing before leaving, and stating in his familiar projected manner,

"I hope you all can forgive these interruptions."

As the two left, everyone seemed to blink, being brought back to what they had been previously engaged in. It seemed that everyone's emotion of worry had flipped back to that of disappointment and shame.

Edmund left quickly after that, having already made his stand, and quite possibly going to check on Lily. Lucy followed him, the air in the room making her greatly uncomfortable. Susan, who had remained near the exit the whole time, gave Peter and Caspian a highly disappointed look before swiftly exiting as well. The two boys followed after, both far too shameful to speak, their heads tilted downward as they walked.

As he left, Peter glanced at Serena, the girl who now sat at the foot of a column, her knees pulled to her chest an her eyes unseeingly staring at the floor.

Peter almost felt a small urge to speak to her, but decided against this, the timing being atrocious. But, as he glanced at her, her eyes flickered up to his. In that split second, their eyes seemed to be exerting the same emotion, almost connecting the two in a momentary understanding. Their eyes swam with an identical amount of disgrace and misery, so similar that if the two had been closer, they definitely would have shared an embrace, the kind of hug two individuals give each other when they share a mutual sadness. As it was, however, no hug occurred, and Peter continued his way out of the room, leaving Serena alone to her thoughts.

* * *

The bed frame holding the weight of a plush mattress squeaked frustratingly as the girl on top of it tossed and turned. Louis, to this girl's great shock and confusion, had in great haste thrown her into her room, and told her to go to sleep. Frankly, she hadn't actually gotten a wink of rest since the day before, but with all that was going on, a peaceful slumber was almost impossible to attain, especially since it was forced upon her.

After a few more minutes, she gave up. Sitting promptly up against the headboard she began to braid her hair, actually, it was more of an attempt. The amount of curl it possessed did not give to being braided very nicely, unlike her sister's which could be twisted into lovely plaits. But, even so, it passed the time.

Luckily for her, in a matter of minutes, she heard a soft knock on the door. Almost unsure if she'd heard it, she let go of her hair and leaned forward. The knock occurred again, this time accompanied with a quiet, "Lily, are you asleep?"

Lily recognized the voice immediately and replied, "Nope, come on in!"

With a quiet crack of the door, followed by a dark haired head emerging through it, Edmund entered the room.

"Hey," He said in an almost awkward tone, "How are you?"

"Fine," Lily replied, tapping the front of her bed for him to come and sit, "bored."

Edmund laughed slightly as he accepted her invitation.

"No, I mean…are you feeling ok?"

Lily rolled her eyes. "Well, I was healed by the cordial, which generally means I'm ok-"

"No, I know that, It's just..." he paused here and rearranged the positioning of his legs, "We were afraid that, since your sister couldn't heal you that maybe…maybe the cordial wouldn't either. I mean, faerie magic tends to be the most powerful kind…."

Lily smiled a laugh on the brim of her lips. So naïve…

"My dear Edmund, you should know better than anyone that no magic can be perfect, every power has weakness."

Edmund fidgeted, but moved a bit closer, his voice an inadvertent stage whisper, "So why couldn't your sister heal you?"

Lily copied his movement and volume, their heads now about a foot apart, "Because she loves me."

Edmund shot backward, a bemused and slightly joking look on his face, "That makes absolutely no sense."

Lily giggled a bit then quieted herself, speaking seriously now, "No, but in all honesty, I would ask my sister about it, she can explain better than I can."

The boy nodded, though he couldn't hide the confusion in his face. He opened his mouth to inquire, but was silenced when a long yawn escaped hers. He chuckled,

"Tired are we?"

"Actually, I think so."

They both laughed as Edmund pushed himself off the bed, absentmindedly straightening his clothes once he returned to standing.

"I think everyone's in need of a bit of sleep," Edmund added, feeling himself growing sleepier and sleepier as the seconds rolled past, "we've had a long night."

As Edmund turned towards the door, Lily remembered something,

"Hey Edmund?"

The boy turned around and nodded.

"What happened to the White Witch? I vaguely remember hearing a crash and you saying-"

"I stabbed her back." The boy replied, a pride shining through his words.

Lily smiled grandly, remembering how he had mentioned being struck by the Witch's staff, so long ago, "That's great!"

"Thank you." He replied in a fake haughty tone.

Lily giggled then calmed her face, "Oh and Edmund?"

"Yes?"

"Can you tell me about the you and White Witch sometime? Like before the battle…"

"Why would you want to know about that?" Edmund asked, sounding almost hurt by her request.

She averted his gaze, "Because it's fascinating to me, I mean how you dealt with it all…your kinda a hero, you know?" She trailed off, her eyes on her fingers.

Edmund turned fully to her, a warmth growing in his chest and a large smile grew on his face. "OK."

She looked up and met his eyes, an agreeing smile on her lips.

"Sleep well Edmund."

"Sleep well Lily." Edmund replied as the girl fell limply upon her pillow, blanket pulled up to her neck.

The boy quietly opened the wooden door and slipped out, the same smile still plastered on his face as he walked down the hall.

* * *

**A/N Not the greatest I know (but hey I've been sick!) and I feel kinda bad that it's been so long and this is all I have to show for it...but holiday break is in a week and I plan on writing a lot then :)**

**So what did you think? Please tell me in your review! **

**Peace and Love**


	16. Food, Fire, and Bugs

***DISCLAIMER: i DO NOT OWN THE CON ONLY MY OWN CHARACTERS!**

**It. is. finally. here. Although much shorter than I originally planned, this little grief of a chapter is officially done! HUZZAH! I'm extremely sorry for the length of time I went without updating, but life can be obnoxious some times. Anyways, I really hope you guys enjoy it! And remember to review, it makes my day ;)

* * *

**There is a huge difference between knowing and _knowing_. For instance, one may know a recipe, but they don't really _know_ it until they have baked the particular dish numerous times. Just as one may know of the White Witch and her power, but not _know_ just how strong it is until she is standing right in front of them. How one may know of the gifts and drawbacks of having faerie blood pulsing through their veins, but not actually _know_ the consequences these bring until they've experienced them. How you may feel you know a person, but not actually _know_ them.

The act of understanding is an extremely complicated thing.

The atmosphere in the Stone Table Room continued to retain the chill from the horrid visitor of that morning. Though just an edge, it was strong enough that Serena now leaned against the large rock basin which held the fire gently illuminating the room.

It had been such a strenuous day, adding many more worries and fears to her already overflowing mind. She had been seated there since the morning, and had completely missed lunch; but when one is deep in thought all other organs, and time, become completely irrelevant.

So much had happened since she and Lily had left their humble faerie abode. Although, truly only a few days had past, enough had occurred that Serena felt she had been punched with a month's worth of events…..

Meeting the Kings and Queens of Old, she wondered if even she could understand how amazing and otherworldly it was to be sharing a space with them, to be talking with them, fighting with them. It was like living with her favorite fictional characters. It was simply… different. Of course Louis revealing himself to the last person in the world he should, Serena actually consumed one of his potions and took part in a battle, she saw the real White Witch stand before her, Lily almost died, the real drawbacks of her gifts revealed themselves in a real life situation….

She laughed at the fact that not four days ago she had been in their little kitchen making the peppermint tea Louis had given them a month prior and watching Lily as she lay on the grass and smelt flowers and climbed trees. She was always much more in tune with nature than Serena was.

Not that she regretted leaving, no. Just as Louis had suggested, though whether or not it was a half hearted proposal she could not quite recall, following the first well bodied creatures to approach the ruins had been a wonderful idea, she didn't miss their tiny cottage at all.

It had begun to feel emptier and emptier there, she remembered. With Lily spending much of her time outside, Serena found herself frequently alone; her only company the historical books Louis was so fond of giving her. She figured that they were the greatest thing Louis had ever provided her. Their stories of brave child Kings and Queens and majestic battles gave her a sense of wonder that got her through even the most boring of days.

So what were the odds that these people who she felt to be her closest friends - for the girls lived in the middle of nowhere away from many other creatures, a strange decision of her parents' - would be the very able-bodied creatures who would show up at the ruins. It occurred to her whether or not she could yet actually call them friends.

As Serena's mind danced and swayed like the flames that burned into her eyes, she barely noticed the sound of footsteps making their way down the hallway. In a matter of seconds, however, the owner of these booted feet made himself known.

"Wallowing alone in your brain is not good for your heart."

Serena paused a moment before glancing up at Louis. He had since changed back into the outfit he wore upon arriving, but the fabric appeared to have been washed.

As he began walking forward, she noticed the small piece of bread in his hand.

"And sitting alone with an empty stomach," Louis continued as he kneeled down, placing the roll in front of her, "is not good for your brain."

Serena looked skeptically at the food. "Then why should I fuel my brain?"

"Because you'll need your brain," Louis chuckled, placing the bread in her hand, "to sort out your mind."

The corners of Serena's mouth twitched a bit as her hand squeezed around the edible object. "And how do you know the state of my mind?"

"I think you know the answer to that question, my dear."

Serena turned to him; his gray eyes stared at her knowingly. For a fleeting moment his soft words made her want to cry, but the feeling soon passed. She began picking at the bread.

"Well it's getting better, I've thought a lot and-"

"But have you thought well?"

Serena opened her mouth to answer, but no words could escape her throat. To evade his gaze she looked down and distracted her mouth with an extremely small piece of bread.

It was not the first time that Louis had questioned her thought process. She recalled the very first day she met Louis. Her mother had died not a few days prior and she locked herself in her room, fervently reading and rereading the letter the woman had left for her. Louis had knocked on her door, which she grudgingly unlocked, and introduced himself as their new guardian. A bit of an odd way to deliver such life-changing news, she felt.

If Louis had been a normal man, he would have said hello and left her to her reading, but because he was the way he is, he questioned her.

"What are you reading so fiercely, if you don't mind my asking?"

She had looked up to him, blank faced. "A letter."

"From who?"

She didn't answer him, only stared for a moment before looking back at the paper gripped tightly in her fingers. But Louis knew it was her mothers, even then he could read her like a book. He sighed.

"You mustn't think too much on things you cannot change. There is a difference between thinking long and thinking well." And with that he had left, leaving her in a way that she would grow so accustomed to that she expected it the moment he arrived. She remembered thinking his advice to be crazy, wondering why on earth a man she had just met would say something like that. However, she began thinking so much about this Louis person that the letter disappeared from her mind.

"I know how you think, Serena. Don't assume I haven't seen this before."

"Seen what?" Serena questioned a bit dumbly, her finger still dwindling on her lip.

Louis smiled and reached out a long hand, placing it gently on the side of her head.

"How your mind is a web. You see, each new thought is a silly insect, which, for whatever reason, has found itself stuck on the sticky surface. And the spider, which is you, take that bug and spin it. You spin it and spin it until it's lodged up there tight." He gently scrunched her hair, "And then, you devour it. But at the end, you're left with its carcass. And since you've spun it so tight those remains will never leave. Those thoughts, those tantalizing moments and experiences will forever rot in your skull. So all I'm saying is that you should learn to let those bugs go. One in a long while will do."

Serena swallowed another piece of bread. "Or I could eat the whole thing."

Louis chuckled and dropped his hand. "Yes, but they sure do taste terrible."

They both laughed for a few moments, Serena periodically putting tiny pieces of food in her mouth; until Louis spoke once more, regaining a relatively serious composure.

"But my point is, instead of keeping those bugs to yourself, you should try sharing them once in a while, or simply let them free."

Serena chewed and then swallowed once more. "Why do I have to be a spider?"

As Louis chuckled at her comment, Serena looked down to her lap to notice that she had somehow consumed the entire roll.

"Looks like you were hungrier than you originally believed," The man said with a smile as he noticed her expression, "Don't worry, I will fetch you some more."

Without waiting for an answer he stood and began dusting off his pants. As he began to re-arch his back, he took a glance at Serena's face and began chuckling once more.

"What?"

"It's nothing it's just," he tapped a misguided curl across her forehead, "you look so like your mother."

Serena fought hard to repress a smile. "I do?"

"Yes, and you have the same web of a brain as she did." He laughed.

As Louis began to turn away, something occurred to Serena.

"Louis, how exactly did you know my mother?"

If one had been staring intensely at his body movement, they may have noticed the way Louis' body stiffened ever so slightly at her question. Without turning back he replied,

"She was a friend of mine from years ago."

"So she is why you became our guardian?"

It had always been a bit of a wonder of Serena's; why a man who could live forever would choose to spend his days babysitting two girls. However, to say that he actually watched over them would be no less than a lie to say the least.

Louis' voice mirrored the smirk on his lips. "Exactly the reason." He took a step forward before adding, "I will be back shortly."

Serena watched as Louis vanished through the threshold, pondering what he had said. Why had Louis never mentioned his relationship with her mother before? It seemed extremely strange that he would bring it up so obviously and at such an odd point in time.

Just before she was to look away from the doorway, she heard the echo of Louis' voice saying, "Well good afternoon Peter, I hope your majesty is doing well."

Serena felt a groan rise in the back of her throat as the boy replied, "As well as can be hoped."

No more than five seconds later Peter's shadowy form entered the room, his head faced dreamily towards the floor, as if he were deep in thought. It was not until he took a number of steps forward that he realized Serena was in there, her eyes staring unblinking at him.

"Oh, you're still here."

"I'm sorry." She replied flatly, eyes still unmoving.

"Don't worry about it, it's fine." He proceeded to walk past her and sit behind the stone table, out of her line of vision.

Serena blinked and looked back towards the fire, attempting to space out once more. However, she could not seem to un-focus her eyes. She decided the culprit to be either Louis' untimely interruption or the fact that Peter was breathing unnecessarily loud.

"If you don't mind, would you please breathe through your nose?"

For a few moments there was no response, and just when Serena figured Peter had ignored her he began in-taking much exaggerated gulps of air.

Serena unhinged her jaw. "You know doing that is only gonna make you dizzy." She said matter-of-factly.

He did not respond, but his breathing quieted.

After what felt like hours, but was truthfully only about ten minutes, Peter spoke, bringing Serena out of her momentary mindless state.

"Why was Louis in here?"

She kept her eyes on the fire. "He wanted to give me something to eat."

"Is that all?"

"Well he said something extraneous about spiders, but besides that, yes." She couldn't conceal the slight grin in her voice.

Peter didn't respond.

Serena looked over at the Stone Table. As she wondered why he was so silent it occurred to her that she wasn't the only one affected by the events of that morning.

"You shouldn't feel bad, you know."

Upon not receiving a response she kept speaking, not quite sure why.

"It could have happened to anyone. We had a stressful night, I mean. I'm sure He understands." Upon another silence from Peter's direction, Serena found herself once again staring at the dancing flames with blurry eyes, her mind wondering from topic to topic. She was so immersed in her thoughts that she did not notice that Peter now sat on the stone table, his back towards the giant carving of the Great Lion.

"I won't tell anyone about Louis."

Serena blinked sharply as the shock of hid voice went through her body. "What?"

The boy stood up and began pacing along the length of the room. He only walked one lap, however, before seating himself down against the basin, about five or so feet away from Serena.

"It's the least I can do." He said quietly, his eyes angled downward.

Serena furrowed her eyebrows. "What do you mean?"

Peter turned to her, the flames creating a dancing shadow on his face, emphasizing the upside down smile he wore. He could not seem to answer this in words, but his expression successfully did this for him.

Serena could not help but feel a tiny flicker of guilt. "Peter, that's not your fault."

"Yes it is," he said with a grunt, "just accept my apology, okay?"

Serena was silent for a moment before agreeing.

"However," he said after a beat, "I would like to know something on your part."

Serena swallowed. "Yes?"

"Why did she have to be healed with the cordial, why couldn't you do it?"

Serena sighed and placed her arms atop her bent knees, face angled at the floor.

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you; it sounds rather stupid, you see."

Peter faced the flames. "Try me."

"Well," Serena began, looking back towards the fire as well, "to put it shortly, because I love her."

Peter chuckled. "No really. Why?"

Serena stared at him. "That's the reason. Faeries can't heal creatures they love-"

"You do realize that that is exactly what you told me earlier about Louis and Lily."

Serena opened her mouth to speak but no words would exit her throat. He was right, but he was wrong.

"I knew you wouldn't believe me." She muttered finally, narrowing her eyes at the quivering flames.

As another small silence began to creep over the room, Louis' footsteps once again emerged from the threshold.

Both Peter and Serena became increasingly aware if his presence.

Louis paused for a moment when he reached Serena, and eyed Peter before drawing attention to the fruit in his hands. There were 8 perfectly sliced pieces of apple sitting daintily upon a makeshift plate he had created.

"Here, it's better than bugs." He knelt down and placed the apple on her lap. Once it balanced on her knee, he slowly made his way to a standing, but not before muttering something to her under his breath. Peter listened as closely as possible, but all he could make out was, "Lily's okay."

Louis then stood up fully, bowed his head in Peter's direction, and left the room. Both Serena and Peter waited halfheartedly for him to bestow his last piece of wisdom on the two of them, but he exited soundlessly, almost like a ghost.

Serena looked down at the cut apple on her lap and picked one up gingerly.

Finding the food to be a good conversation starter, Peter stated,

"She wasn't at lunch, Lily. Edmund said she was sleeping."

Serena took a small bite of the fruit and replied, "I can understand why."

Peter slunk forward a bit, eyeballing the object in her fingers. "Do you mind?" He asked, motioning towards the plate. "I didn't feel like going to lunch either."

Serena nodded silently and pushed the plate towards him. As he took one, he said something that became the prime focus of Serena's mind for the remainder of the day.

"You know, I know how much you hate him, you could heal him, after all-"

"So you believe me?" Serena interrupted hopefully as she finished her slice.

"I suppose I've heard stranger." What he wanted to say was _stupider_ but figured that would not be a wise decision. "Plus Edmund told me that Lily said the same thing. I still have to say it sounds rather- nevermind. But, as I was saying," he continued as she Okayed him to take another piece, a bit of an ice in her movements. "You may not love him, but it seems pretty clear that he loves you."

Peter glanced up after not receiving a reply to the intense stare of her blue eyes.

"Why do you think that?"

Although she asked kindly, Peter felt his lips dry up.

"He just seems to care a lot, that's all."

Serena blinked but didn't reply. She shared her apple equally with Peter until the plate was bare. For some reason the sight of the fruitless plate gave her a sudden uneasy feeling that swept through her veins like magma. She felt a longing to be anywhere but where she was. The fire blazing around her now felt hotter than ever.

She said a small goodbye to Peter, stating she was going to check on her sister, to which he returned the farewell, and assured that he would return the plate to Louis.

As Serena walked once more through the dim hallway, she could not stop thinking of what Peter said. As silly as it sounded, the idea of Louis actually caring for her seemed as far-fetched as a fish building a home with a bird, and yet she could not get it off her mind. What a random, inconceivable, and oddly considerate thing suggestion it was. Nevertheless, the afternoon sun would be setting in a few hours, and she really did wish to see her sister before she herself fell into a much needed slumber.

The bugs would simply have to wait.

* * *

**A/N So there it is! This little sucker is finished! I know it seems small and such but it's like the little injector thing that decides how the rest will play out. Well not exactly cause I know what's gonna happen a few chapters from now but it's just leading up to it that becomes challenging. And as I said in my authors note (which was deleted once I posted this) no matter how long the next update takes, I pray it will not be longer than two weeks, I will DEFINITELY be finishing this story. So never fear! **

**But anywho please tell me what you think! I know reviews can be tedious ****sometimes ****but their very uplifting and greatly enjoyed, and thank you so much to everyone who had reviewed, favorited, and/or story alerted, you continue to make my day :D**

**Peace and Love  
**


	17. Lorenzo, Dinners, and A Lot About Hair

**DISCLAIMER: i DO NOT OWN THE CON ONLY MY CHARACTERS**

**So here's another chapter, finally! I regret that they've been taking so long, but I just keep plugging along. :) Anyways, this chapter is a bit of a character chapter, and as a result jumps around a bit. Just as a bit of a warning, I suppose.  
**

**I had a long debate with myself about whether or not to continue this chapter or end it as it is, and ultimately decided on this one, the shorter version, simply because the scene that would follow needs a lot of thought on my part and I figured why take any longer than I already had. Now, to finish with the long sentences, I hope you enjoy!**

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* * *

**The sun sat idly in the center of the afternoon sky. In a matter of hours, the warm glow of sunset would encase the How in orange hue.

It's incredible how many would miss such a sight, choosing to stay inside and enjoy the brown walls of rock instead. Throughout his many years of life, that was always one phenomena Louis could never quite figure out. And yet, he was not about to run into the How and start preaching about why everyone should come and witness the beauty of the setting sun. And perhaps that's exactly the answer. No one who knows the magnificence of the sky would wish for hundreds of people to suddenly surround him, their chatting and rude or overly amazed statements quivering the effects of the sight. Yes, Louis knew he was a selfish man on that part. But all that said, he would not be in the least bit opposed to a select few watching by his side. Only the few whom he believed would truly enjoy it.

Louis' thin body sat comfortably on the only ledge he had ever found acceptable. True, he had only sat upon the one, but he figured why push perfection.

To Louis the sun was the instigator that very few appreciated. It begins the day, in which, of course, lives progress and grow. It begins the night, which sets up everyone for their peaceful slumbers. And if it mattered, if his single complete understanding meant anything to the giant orb, Louis valued the sun for all it was worth, and even, on occasion, empathized with it.

He had headed directly to the ledge after leaving Serena and Peter, before the sun began to set. It seemed to him the only suitable place to go.

However, he did not climb up there to escape. No, on the contrary, he sat up their waiting for someone to join him. Something about the view, no matter the time of day, unlocked a person in the way no other view could. And soon enough, Louis' wishes were appeased, and the sun held its key tight in a warm grasp.

The man's ears twitched as the sound of footsteps hurried up the stairs. A small smile faded onto his lips as they stopped short upon reaching the top.

"Are you a fan of sunsets too?" Louis asked, not taking his eyes of the sky.

A moment passed before a winded Peter replied, "I don't know anyone who doesn't."

Louis chuckled and tapped the ground next to him.

Peter hesitated, but hailed Louis' invitation and slowly seated himself down next to the tall man, keeping his legs folded underneath him.

"I see you have my plate?" Louis said once Peter was comfortable, noticing the brown object shifting around in the boy's hands.

"Oh yes!" He said with a start, as if he had completely forgotten his reason for running up the steps.

"I told Serena I'd give it back to you, and Susan said you were up here." He continued; placing the plate in Louis outstretched hand.

The man looked at the plate for a moment as a smirk steadily grew on his long face. "You realize that this is a slab of wood and cloth, do you not?"

"Yes, but I wasn't just going to leave it." Peter trailed off. It hadn't actually occurred to him what it was made of.

A few moments passed, the conversation having come to an obvious end. Topics like utensils never did last particularly long. Nevertheless, as a couple additional seconds rolled by, Louis cupped his hands together and, still facing the sky, spoke calmly,

"You know, Peter, I really must thank you for keeping my secret. It really means a lot to me, and Serena."

Peter emitted a low grunt and twisted his legs into a more comfortable position. "Well I really don't think it would have done much good. Seeing as our troops can use any extra soldier we can get."

Louis faced the boy, his gray eyes narrowing ever-so-slightly. "My King, if I may be so blunt as to say this, but does it ever occur to you that perhaps war and armies and battles are not what is most important?"

"Oh, I know."

"Then do you ever think you may care about more than just being king?"

Peter expressively rolled his eyes and let out a loud sigh. "Of course I do! Just currently, at the present time, it's a little hard to think of anything else."

Louis could not help but chuckle. "But don't you understand that that is what makes this a perfect time to think on something else!"

Peter rolled his eyes again and stood up, angrily dusting off his pants and shirt. The last thing he needed was some cryptic advice from an immortal faerie man. As he turned to leave, however, Louis said one last statement that made him rethink his early exit.

"I used to think on certain things a bit too much as well. It is actually why I am the way I am." His voice was blank; no emotion whatsoever woven in his words. He took a breath, "I didn't want to live forever, you know. In fact, I wanted the exact opposite. It's funny, really. How ironic life can be."

Peter turned slightly to face the man, his tall body still facing the horizon. He couldn't put his finger on it, but in that moment, as the sun began to fall behind the mountains, and hot whispering shadows played upon every angle of Louis' figure, he felt bad for him. He looked almost sickly. In an instant of intense curiosity, Peter turned his shoulder faintly and inquired,

"Louis, exactly how old are you?"

There was a brief silence in which Peter wondered whether Louis was pausing for dramatic effect or if the man had honestly lost track of how many unending years he had been living. To his indifferent reaction, Louis replied, an obvious smile on his lips,

"410 last month."

* * *

Lily had been staring at the ceiling for almost twenty minutes. To awake to sleep and too tired to get up, she stayed plastered to her bed, not quite sure what to do next. Even with the trauma of the morning she was surprised to have slept so long. She was not very accustomed to napping, and feared it would greatly affect her sleep schedule. But for now, she let her worries vanish into the wooden creases above her. As she noticed a small ant scuttling along the wall, a gentle knock sounded from the door.

"Come in."

The door opened slowly, as if the visitor was careful to keep it from squeaking, and Serena slunk through the crack. And as if suddenly gaining the speed of a cheetah, she ran to her sister, engulfing her in a vice of a hug.

"I'm so glad your okay."

"Of course I am," Lily choked, gently loosening her sister's grip.

Serena laughed breathily, "Of course, of course." She released her sister, placed one of Lily's curl's delicately behind her ear, and continued, "You slept well I hope."

Lily smiled. "Yes. One of the best sleeps I have in a while, actually."

Serena's heart flickered. When Louis was gone Lily never slept well at all. Dreams, especially when he had been absent for a few weeks, haunted her slumbers like angry ghosts. Even though her skin remained free of dark bags and any sign of fatigue, a true gift of her faerie appearance, one that seemed only gifted to Lily, her eyes were never as bright when Louis was not around. But whether that was the instigator or a symptom, was beyond her.

"I do hope Louis stays longer this time," Lily continued, "I greatly enjoy sleeping."

She said this almost sing-song. However, her attempts at concealment did not surpass her sister.

"You do realize you don't have to love him. Life would be so much easier if you didn't-"

"How can I do that Serena?" Lily interrupted, her voice a whisper, "he's, he's…he's our father."

It was conversation they had had many times before, and every time it caused Serena to freeze.

"How can you still consider that man a father?"

"How can you not!" Lily protested. "He watched over us, cooked for us, gives us presents-"

"So do nannies and maids, and they are not parents."

"Would you rather us be orphans then? Does that sound more appealing to you?" Lily asked skeptically.

Serena dropped her eyes. "We are orphans, Lily." She said after a moment. "The only reason Louis comes back is because you've developed Amorska. If you died he'd be responsible."

"Do you really wish to believe that?" Lily's voice quivered. "Do you really want to think that everything he's done so far is because of me?"

Serena looked up to her sister, the girl's wide eyes bluer than ever. A sight which directed Serena's thoughts to what Peter had said.

"Anyone can care about you." She mumbled to herself, just quiet enough to control her own thoughts, before replying, "No, I think he comes for you and stays for the fun."

"What fun?"

"The fun of staying for fun."

* * *

A hearty laugh escaped Peter's lips, his hand holding on tightly to his wavering belly.

"And then she said, 'I am not a dwarf I am an extremely short fawn!' And she proceeded to show me her tiny little hoof feet!" Louis proclaimed under his intense chuckling. "And then- then she said, and she had a horribly gruff voice, "don't go assumin' that just 'cause I have class enough to wear a long skirt in public that I'm a different species! Gosh you faeries are unbelievable!' And- and she shook her little fist at me-" He cut himself short as they both once again erupted with laughter. It was not really the story that was so humorous, but the hilarious way in which Louis told it. It had been a long time since he had told anyone tales from his adventures, and 410 years does tend rack up a lot of memories.

"Where do you find these people!" Peter asked in shorten breaths.

"Oh, why here and there. You never do know how interesting the people right under your nose can be." Louis answered, a bit more composed.

"Hmm, I suppose your right."

Over the course of the hour, which flew by the way time does when two companions have an entertaining conversation, Peter began to warm up to Louis in a way he never thought he would. Perhaps he had been blinded by Serena's opinions and his own assumptions, but Louis had an air to him that reminded him of a joyous big brother, or what Peter believed one would be like. He was now becoming more and more confident that Louis would be a fine addition to his army, and now for more reasons than the one. However, he could not extinguish his curiosity. There was so much unknown about Louis. So much that went further than funny stories and unconventional wisdom. He was a strange man, but a kind one. Which was perhaps what made him so interesting.

"Louis," Peter began as they both began to calm, "may I ask you a question?"

"Why of course, your majesty. You are my king; if anything _I_ should be asking your permission for the privilege to answer your question." Louis replied, a twinkle in his eye.

A smile flickered on Peter's face. "Where did you come from? I mean, where did you go?"

Louis paused for moment. Peter had learned from his time with Serena that these brief pauses tended to be linked with their inability to decide whether or not to tell the truth. Peter only prayed that Louis was smart enough to be honest.

"I go here and there." Louis said finally, his face pointing towards the dwindling sunset which now painted the earth in lovely amber. "I'm not the kind of man who can stay in one place for very long, and there are always new things to be obtained."

Peter noticed that Louis gently placed a hand over the left side of his chest, as if comforted by the touch.

"I know you must think I'm a horrible father figure, always leaving his children." Louis added.

"I don't think that." Peter stated; the statement, however, only true in the top layer of his heart. For deep down he still itched with disapproval, at least in this area.

Louis chuckled, a gentle breeze catching the ends of his long hair. "Well I do."

"Then why do you go?" Peter asked, words falling from his tongue like dripping water.

Louis turned to him, his face warm. "When you live as long as I do, places get very boring after a while. Everything is the same, repetitive. I suppose the only reason I've been able to stay here for so long is the absolute amazement your presence brings me."

"How do you mean?"

"You're the Kings and Queens of Old. You left as adults and returned as kids. That is something that never fails to intrigue. Plus, I've never participated in battles; I suppose every man should be in the army if he is given the opportunity." Louis' eyes shined once more as he continued. "Also, I don't want them to become distant, Serena and Lily." He looked back out towards the horizon. "Serena already dislikes me as it is and I feel Lily's love for me is growing to be nothing more than the love of a hope."

"Will she really die, if you didn't come back?"

Louis chuckled. "Serena told you that?"

The blonde boy nodded.

"That's a milestone, you know. But yes she will. However, don't think that's my only reason for returning."

"But why? I mean, no offense, but I've never heard of that before. Are you sure that's what will happen?"

Louis smiled. But it was not an ordinary smile. It was the smile an adult gives to a child when their innocence and childish ignorance is almost unbearable.

"That's how their mother died."

* * *

Lily's hair, though very curly naturally, was slowly becoming a mass of ringlets and frizz. She realized that it had not been brushed nor washed since she had met the Pevensies. So, as to neaten Lily's hair and take the opportunity of a nice bonding moment for the two sisters, the girls went into a small wash room conjoined to their bed chambers, and proceeded to wash up and comb Lily's blonde hair.

Her curls had been in makeshift braids during her rest, which resulted in an even wavier mass of locks for Serena to deal with. Nonetheless, from the moment of her birth Lily had had the curls of faeries and Serena had been able to keep them well maintained. Her own hair, though not at all straight, was not what one may consider conventional faerie hair, and as a result took much less time to de-snarl. However, making it look nice was a whole other matter entirely.

As Lily washed her body, Serena cleansed her own hair using soap that was once again produced by the centaur women. It smelled of the forest and gave her a slight feeling of nostalgia. She wished greatly never to return home, but the change was not going to be easy.

Once she was clean and clothed, she placed her hair in two damp braids, unsure whether or not she would fix it up later. A few moments subsequent, Lily emerged, clean, clothed and hair awaiting the gentle swoop of a comb.

As Serena moved the brush, hoping to reduce the amount of pain inflicted upon the poor girl as much as possible, the two conversed quietly and thoughtfully. The left side of Lily's head was as smooth as it could get before when young girl spoke, looking into the small mirror situated in front of her,

"Serena, do I really look like a doll?"

"What do you mean?" Serena asked half-halfheartedly.

"Well, Louis says he buys me dolls because I resemble them. Is that really true?"

Serena paused for a moment, collecting her thoughts.

"Well, a number of half-blood faeries are said to resemble dolls and-"

"But you don't look like one." Lily interrupted, her eyes desperately vying for a glimpse at her sister.

Serena placed the comb at Lily's roots and fluidly separated the strands.

"I don't have a lot of faerie traits. You just got lucky, I suppose."

"Lucky?" Lily asked curiously. "I thought you hated faerie traits."

Serena stopped brushing all together.

"Why would you think that?"

"Well," Lily began, childishly playing with her fingers. "You never want us to talk about it, you don't like Louis giving me dolls, you didn't even want us to tell the kin-"

"Lily," Serena interrupted, an incredible surge of guilt pulsing through her body. "I- I just don't want it to define us."

"Why?"

"Because, I just don't." Serena stated, resuming her brushing.

Lily smiled at her sister's touch. "You know, I love you, but sometimes your logic doesn't make much sense."

* * *

The sun's slumber had begun. The sky slowly became a deep purple and the excitement for dinner spread through all.

Upon the ledge, Peter and Louis continued to sit, their stomachs requests pushed to the back of their minds.

Louis had long discussed with himself what should be said and left unsaid. All he spoke, even in the heat of discussion, was well thought out. Words were his safety and his tools, but they were not always as such.

One time, long ago, in the days almost out of memories grasp, he found himself at a loss for words. Not just their use, but their very formation.

He had entered the 100s, and his new endless life had yet to settle in. He was bigger at this time, an average amount of muscle under his skin. Despite the drastic consequences that magic had caused him, the craft still remained a hobby of his, one that he could never seem to let go of. It was his escape. This was because, as he most feared, he had gone through what was perhaps the hardest part of living forever. Every person he had known from childhood, and all whom had remained a companion after his life altering mistake, passed from old age. Faeries only do live slightly longer than humans.

Even before their deaths, when they lived as elderly faeries, his heart had begun to break. Seeing his friends touch each others' wrinkles and make fun of the loose skin dangling from their arms brought him a sense of distance. He always lamented not complaining about age-related problems with them. When one's young the idea of age is terrifying, but Louis realized that aging together, aging with the one's you love, is what makes it bearable.

There were many people he missed, even now as he sat next to the young king. But none as much as the boy who had been Louis' closest companion since early childhood, Lorenzo.

Lorenzo was much shorter than Louis and carried a bit more weight around the midsection, even in youth. Louis always believed that his extra fat was where Lorenzo stored all his quick wit. There were times when they would find themselves in a tight bind, completely unaware of what to say, and Lorenzo would put a hand on his stomach, squeeze delicately, and come up with the most irrational excuse that would be so inconceivable that the binder would have no choice but to believe it incontrovertibly. His words were witty, oddly arranged, and full of candid emotion.

Everyone in town knew of Lorenzo's little "gift," and yet he was never caught. He was the devil with angel wings, as Louis' mother would say.

However, Louis never saw these devil horns. No one who was close with Lorenzo ever did. He was, whether or not the adults believed it to be so, the kindest person Louis had and ever would meet.

He never boasted of his talents, and would on occasion thank Louis for evading a situation that he, in reality, did not. He gave sincere compliments. He would only praise a woman's clothing if he honestly found them worthy of praise, not to impress her with fake admiration. But he was never insulting. Louis could by no means recall one hateful word that ever escaped Lorenzo's mouth, at least when he was old enough to realize their consequences.

He was also a man of such optimism that his cup would constantly overflow onto the table. He even had a positive outlook when it came to death.

He never believed that one should be upset at a funeral, because the deceased would not want to look down and see their friends sobbing. So, in correlation to this belief, he and Louis made a pact that if one of them died before the other, the one still living would sing an old faerie lullaby at the other's funeral. Neither of them could sing, and those songs were in such a humorous language that he who was dead would get a good laugh in from wherever he was.

There were times when Lorenzo's optimism brought tears to Louis' eyes.

After Louis became immortal, and many people left him and scolded him, telling him of the horrid mistake he had made, the first thing Lorenzo said to him was, "have fun singing!" As if the worst part of it all was that now their pact was no longer left to chance. Louis remembered how Lorenzo made an overly exaggerated "phew" because he wouldn't have to sing.

And at his funeral, which occurred seventy years later exactly, on a day as sunny as Lorenzo would have hoped, the funniest event occurred.

Louis stood before the congregation, a small handwritten pact snug in his coat pocket, and began to sing. However, no words, not even a hum, could escape passed the dry lump in his throat. Now, to anyone watching, they would believe the singer had either forgotten his lyrics, or was far more mortified of singing in front of others than he had realized.

However, it was neither fear nor loss of memory that instigated his silence. It was the view from atop the raised platform on which he stood. Every attendant was old, even the children of Lorenzo's friends had the early signs of wrinkles upon their faces. Louis could not help but envy their happiness. It was then when it hit him that he, over everyone else, was not in the least bit joyous at this occasion. All others attempted a smile, for the Lorenzo's sake, and here was Louis, his best friend, and his face as sullen as ever. The lyrics could not get over the rock of guilt in his throat, the dry lump of failure ruining his companion's last wish.

If it had not been for what happened next, he may have.

There was a moment, a split second, right before Louis was going to run off the stage, when Lorenzo's voice, all jolly and hopeful as it was, exploded in Louis' head, saying, "Have fun singing!"

Somehow, someway, this moistened the dryness, pushed away the stone, and enabled the words to flow. And he can say, in complete and utter honesty, that he had never laughed so hard in his life.

And to this day that song still plays in his mind. It plays whenever he thinks through words, it plays whenever he speaks. And on days or moments when he's feeling particularly down, he will hum and on occasion sing it. For in that simple tune remained everything Lorenzo held to his name. All the features that even as loved one after loved one perished from the natural course of life, Louis was sure to hold on to. It shaped who he was and who he would continue to be.

And as Louis sat beside Peter, the present circulating around him, that faerie lullaby played in his mind. He was certain that if he had been alone, he would have quietly sung it to himself.

"What do you mean, that's how their mother died?" Peter asked, his voice a stage whisper.

Louis sighed. "Well, her spouse died in a military battle of some sort, and as a result she developed something called Amorska."

"That sounds revolting." Peter said.

Louis chuckled. "Well, it is. Faeries cannot survive without the one they love. It is similar to how parasites feed off blood. Faeries feed off love, it sustains us and without it for a long period of time, we perish."

"That sounds revolting, too."

Louis smiled.

"But, wait," Peter continued. "That doesn't explain why-"

"Peter, Louis! It's time for dinner!" Lucy yelled as she ran up the stairs, obviously filled with much more excitement then was needed.

A flash skimmed across Louis' eye. "Well, your majesty, we're going to have to save this conversation for a later time." He whispered as Lucy came into sight.

"Why hello, my queen." He greeted her, standing himself up and clapping his hands together. "So, what are we having tonight?"

Lucy's eyes brightened as she began listing all the dishes they'd been eating for the last few nights as if they were brand new foods neither had yet to taste.

Before exiting, however, as per usual for him, Louis paused and stated,

"Oh, and Peter; sometimes family members are the best ones to question when it comes to their families."

And with that he followed Lucy down the stairs, listening intently as she went on and on about potatoes and carrots.

* * *

Serena's hair was still mildly damp as she unweaved it from her braid. Lily had been hailed down to dinner by Susan, an invitation which Serena replied to with an "I'll be there in five minutes."

Lily turned out all right. Her curls were managed and neatly dropped down her head and face. Serena always paid so much attention to her sister's appearance. Perhaps more than she should have.

She began brushing through her own hair, which as messy as it was, was far easier to comb through than Lily's. Her arm was extremely thankful for that.

As she parted and separated each curl, the reflection staring back at her caught the weary part of her eye.

She really did not look like a faerie, or part faerie, for that matter. All her life she had considered this a plus, a nice addition to her abilities to conceal. However, it was not without its drawbacks. As a bird envies its brother for having larger and more extravagant wings, Serena envied her sister. It is easy to accept what you are when you look like it, but it becomes difficult when your true self is a surprise, when people say, "you're a faerie?" not expecting a girl with a practically complete human appearance to be anything but. True, Louis looked like a human, but so did most faerie men.

She believed that had her sister not been with her, and Louis not shown up, the Pevensies would still think her human. But whether or not that would have actually been better, she wondered as her hair air dried upon her head, was a question she yet knew the answer to.

Once satisfied with her hair, Serena opened up a drawer and extracted a few pieces of jewelry. She felt like being a bit of a faerie tonight.

* * *

If dinners could be bipolar, this one would be the first admitted into the Institute of Mealtime Illnesses.

It began as a somber gathering. Many had yet to recover from the loses of the raid, and sat at their tables with heads angled downwards, utensils gingerly picking at the food in front of them.

Caspian sat at the head of the table, his kingly countenance left back in his room, revealing him as the teenage boy he truly was.

Susan, though haven already internally forgiven Caspian and Peter for earlier events, silently put food in her mouth, barely meeting anyone's eyes.

Edmund felt a bit out-of-place. He felt a pride for defeating the White Witch, and he almost wished for this dinner to be more joyous than it was. However, he managed to mask this and mimic the faces of his siblings.

Lily felt rather good inside. She was well rested, better than anyone in the How, and was barely conscious, or was sitting at home, during the events everyone was moping about. But, like Edmund, whom she had only spoken a "thank-you" to after having her hair complimented, Lily remained quiet, figuring not speaking would contain her from saying something wrong.

Peter and Serena, who had arrived late, were forced to be seated next to one another. There is a time during the relationship between two people when neither is quite sure where they stand. This is essentially the stepping stone to friendship. However, as neither knows if the other wishes to be friends, neither feels any comfort in asking. So, in addition to the raid and the incident with the White Witch, they were both hit with an awkward punch of uncertainty. A blow that was not enjoyable for anyone.

Lucy, as brilliantly cheerful as she was, was also affected by the solemn air encasing the dining area. Her shining light began to flicker as she too was taciturn, delicately placing the potatoes that excited her so into a saddened mouth.

Louis was the instigator of the disease.

It started when he addressed the brunette boy across from him.

"King Edmund, would you mind getting Lily's attention for me?"

Though a whisper, Louis' voice startled the boy, leading him to jerk ever-so-slightly. One could even say the jolt awoke Susan from her thoughts.

After Louis repeated his request, Edmund tapped a dazed Lily's shoulder, pointing his finger towards the man across from them.

"What is it?"

"Your hair looks absolutely lovely."

Lily smiled coyly, her hands moving absentmindedly to her head.

"Thank you, but it really wasn't my doing. Serena did it for me."

All who were alert to the conversation directed their attention towards the blonde girl. She was chewing on a potato skin when the heat of eyes caused her to look up, her face reading an expression of extreme puzzlement.

"Why are you staring at m-"

"You did wonders with Lily's hair, my dear."

It took a moment for the compliment to click before Serena replied with a timid thanks.

Peter seemed to overhear, for he added,

"You did your own, too?"

Serena nodded, and gently stroked the end of a curl.

"Oh yes, Serena! Your hair does look different, better!" Lucy piped in. Though perhaps unneeded, any talk of girly things lit a candle in Lucy's eyes.

"Are you saying it looked bad before, Lucy?" Susan remarked, a slight smile on her pretty face.

"Of course not! I was simply complimenting."

"Oh, what a great compliment!" Edmund chimed in, a laugh forming on his lips as sarcasm laced his words. "Your hair looks so much better now, thank goodness you changed it. The old style was atrocious!"

"Now that's a little over the top." Lily laughed.

And that is how it started. Soon Caspian and members of surrounding tables got into a rising debate about the meaning of Lucy's admiring comment. Suffice to say, it was the most boisterous and laugh filled conversation about hair there most likely ever was in the history of Narnia. And for that dinner, during which everyone laughed with their neighbors as if the two were the closest of companions, all thought of war and loss left their minds. And that dinner, which began as a somber meal full off regret and sadness, became a joyful supper that lifted the spirits of all who attended.

Lorenzo would be proud.

* * *

**Peace and Love**


	18. Mothers, Brothers, and Breathing

***DISCLAIMER I DO NOT OWN CON ONLY MY ORIGINAL CHARACTERS**

**Oh gosh I am soooo dreadfully sorry this took 2 months to be completed. Even more so that it's so short. I've simply been extremely busy these past two months, but hopefully I will be able to get the next chapter out quicker. :) Anyways, happy reading!**

* * *

Laughter has a magic not even the greatest of sorcerers can unlock. It allows people the ability to be the way they want and say the words they wish to say. Perhaps it's because when one is laughing and feeling joyful, the world is sprawled beneath their feet.

Throughout the dinner, whether or not either fully acknowledged the fact; Serena and Peter were almost falling over each other in glee. She giggled at his comments and he chuckled at hers. Such simple actions they were. And yet, they made it difficult for the two to part as the meal came to a conclusion; no one does ever wish to escape laughter. And so they remained together, a gleeful pair, walking the How with light footsteps.

Serena ran her hand absentmindedly along the wall, the rough texture mesmerizing her nerves. "I wish that could have lasted forever."

Peter stared at her hand, laughing. "I agree completely!"

She smiled, "Glad we're on the same page!"

Peter grinned in agreement, but faded as his eyes locked on her moving hand.

"I can also most certainly say," his placed a finger against the wall, his voice becoming distant, "that this day turned itself around quite well."

"Days can't turn themselves around. It feels interesting, doesn't it?"

Peter blinked, not realizing his full palm now grazed the surface of the rock.

"Oh, yes" he began, releasing his hand and bringing it to his leg to wipe away invisible dust. "Very interesting."

Serena giggled, but did not reply. Instead, her eyes scanned the room, catching bits and pieces of people cleaning up tables and getting themselves together. Everyone had a smile on their face. She had never felt so massively joyous.

"Do you know what we should do Peter?"

"What?"

She did not reply, but instead grabbed his hand and raced forward, pulling his confused body down the halls, now with a destination in mind.

The cool air of night bloomed and decayed in even motion as Peter and Serena ascended the rocky staircase. Her hand still dangled loosely around his clothed wrist as the dark sky entered eyesight. The smell of the yellow moon filled their nostrils.

Peter inhaled softly, giving himself a moment to let the atmosphere sink into his veins. "Do you know what's strange?"

"What?"

"This is the second time I've been out here today."

"Why is that so weird?"

"Because it feels foreign and new; different."

Serena looked at him and watched as he put his hand under the tip of his chin, looking straight into the unknown view. His white collar unfolded directly above his adam's apple and swayed delicately in the breeze. She had to fight off the intense urge to reach over and straighten it out.

"Night is different than day."

"Perhaps you're right." Peter replied, the corners of his mouth slightly curved.

The beauty of the darkness took over for only a few precious moments.

"Wait, why were you out here before?"

Peter reluctantly blinked the stars out of his eyes.

"What? Oh I came out here to think and ran into Louis. We stayed out here for a little while."

Serena looked at his suspiciously. "Why were you talking with Louis?"

"Because we're both men and I think that entitles us the right to a civilized conversation." There was obvious ice in his words.

"I didn't mean anything by it, I was just wondering." Serena replied, walking over to the familiar ledge and seating herself upon it.

Peter sighed. "I'm sorry, but we were just talking." He then copied her seating position not six inches to the right.

The first silence then took hold. It gripped tightly, depriving words and thoughts from in taking vital breaths of air. The oddity of the new ledge puzzled Peter. When he sat there with Louis, not two hours prior, it seemed much different, as if from another lifetime. Much more than a simple time change and lack of sunlight. Sudden thought of the tall man brought a slight chuckle to Peter's lips.

"What's so funny?" Serena asked, grateful to breathe again.

"No it's nothing." Peter replied, "Something Louis told me."

Serena furrowed her eyebrows. "What?"

"Just funny stories from his past."

Serena pulled her legs off the side and folded them over one another, twisting her body towards Peter.

"What kinds of stories?"

"Random ones." Peter laughed in memory. "Completely random ones."

"Why did he tell you them?"

Peter glanced at his companion. There was eagerness in her expression, but a thin veil, so minuscule he was surprised to have noticed it, of hurt as well. He folded his legs into a pretzel position.

"I asked."

"Oh."

"He's not the kind of man to stay in one place, you know."

"Who?"

"Louis. My guess is that things probably get boring after a while. I can only imagine how much ground hes covered in 410 years-"

"He's 410 years old?" Serena interrupted, sounding exceptionally shocked.

Peter looked at her with puzzlement. "You didn't know that?"

"No, I didn't. He never told me." She dampened her lips. "Why did he tell you that?"

"I asked him." Peter replied matter-of-factly. He then paused and looked to his right. "Do you ever ask him anything? I mean important questions?"

Serena opened her mouth, but said nothing. She searched through all the times she spoke to Louis, chatted with him, or wondered anything about him.

"I don't know." She said finally. "Maybe I haven't."

"Well you can't expect to know anything about anybody if you don't ask." Peter looked back towards the dark forest, his pupils soaking up the purple trees like sponges.

His mind wondered back to the night before. For the first time all day he remembered the pang of the failed raid. His mouth opened and his thoughts flowed out. However, it was not a waterfall he attempted to cease.

"I invited Louis to be an official part of our army. If you'd like," he paused and glanced between Serena and the open sky, "you may join as well. I think you proved yourself worthy last night."

A guilty clamp closed around Serena's heart, puncturing it until her throat unlocked.

"Peter, I have to tell you something-"

"What?"

Serena bit her lip. "Well, you see, it wasn't really me fighting. Well I mean it was, but….how do I say this…" She scratched her head gently and tried to arrange her words.

"Serena, what do you mean?"

He moved his hand forward, inadvertently grazing the tips of her fingers.

She balled her hand and stared at her knuckles.

"Peter we drank potions. Both Louis and I." She paused, "It _made_ us amazing fighters. Accept we couldn't concentrate on anything else. Which is probably why-"

"It's fine."

Serena lifted her head to see the boy staring into the darkness, his eyes focused.

"What?"

He tilted his head in her direction.

"Don't worry about it."

"Are you sure?"

Peter began to shift himself to his knees. "It's fine, it doesn't matter. Just don't mention it again, okay?"

Serena blinked and gradually said, "Okay."

The world was silent for a split second.

"We should probably go, it's getting late."

Peter pushed himself to his feet and straightened out leisurely.

"Aren't you coming?" He asked, noticing she hadn't moved.

"I'm sorry."

Peter smiled. "What for?"

He went over to her and stuck out a hand. She glanced up, her eyes meeting his for a moment, and grabbed the cool appendage.

"I'll walk you to your room."

"Okay."

* * *

When Louis was growing up, his body aging as it should, he lived a life of happiness and prosperity. His family, consisting of a mother, a father, and an older brother; was enviable to say the least. They seemed perfect, and Louis absolutely abhorred it.

Every day, consistently for years, he would awaken to his mother's sugary voice, "Good morning, my son, eat until your full." Every afternoon, he would come home from class to his mother's salty voice, "Good afternoon, my son, eat until your satisfied." And every evening, he would descend a small staircase, and hear his mother's lemony voice say, "Good evening, my son. Eat if you want."

The food was always stupendous; his mother was known for her cooking. But it was always the same, same recipes, same spices, and same tone of voice. He often wondered if his mother ever became tired of cooking. To be honest he could scarcely recall ever seeing her do anything but.

She was a hard working woman and lovely as well. At least, Louis always believed so. He sometimes wondered if she believed it. If she wasn't in the kitchen she was in front of the mirror, her eyes glistening at the face staring back at her. She had large faerie eyes and dark lips and hair like Louis. And like her son it was always in a neat ponytail, though much higher on her head. Louis only caught it streaming down her frail back once, when she thought she was alone. Louis has never seen anything so beautiful since.

She was, in all actuality, a perfect faerie woman. She grew rows upon rows of flowers and plants, and had a wonderful love of animals. Louis always knew it would have made her life extraordinary if she had a pet, but his father would not allow it. "Too much work." He would say. He didn't know her at all. He pretended he did, acted like he did, but he didn't. She was his trophy wife; his beautiful faerie spouse whom he could come home to, eat her cooking, lay with, and show off to all his friends. When they'd go out together she'd always be on his arm, looking pretty and daft. Faerie woman were not know for being particularly intellectual. She would glance over at other ladies, having enlightened conversations and laughing, but she required herself to stay with her husband. Her mouth sewed tight with invisible thread. Louis knew she shouldn't have stayed with his father; he often stayed awake at night contemplating why she did.

As a teen Louis promised himself, even wrote it upon paper, that he would never treat his wife, or other women for that matter, like his father treated his. Besides, he did not want a perfect faerie spouse. No such being existed. The tears embedded in his mother's vanity were proof enough of that.

* * *

"Louis, I never did get a chance to ask you about the raid."

Lily danced gaily down the hallway. Her thin legs had such electricity running through them that she could not possibly sit still.

"I told you all about it, remember?"

Lily gave the brunette boy a lighthearted glance.

"I know that, but you weren't in the middle of it."

"I guess…"

Louis chuckled. "Do you really want to hear?"

"No, actually," She stopped walking and began speaking her words. "I don't think I do."

"Shame, really. It truly is a fantastic story."

* * *

It's not that Peter was mad. On the contrary, he was actually rather indifferent about the subject. The potions hadn't harmed anyone, truthfully they had actually helped. He should have been angry, he should have been furious. Faerie magic was exactly why he was suspicious of them in the first place. He should have been, he wanted so much to be, but he wasn't. Which is probably what frightened him the most.

The rock walls breathed deeply. They inhaled and exhaled slowly, expanding and contracting the smooth walkway between. Dusty breaths filled the air, so loud and monstrous that only their sound could be heard. Speaking was useless, for no words could possibly be perceived through the breaths. It was a wonderful excuse, but a poor one. Silence in noise is far worse than silence in silence, for at least then one can hear their own mind. Or perhaps, in certain contexts, it is better if the brain is hushed.

Serena closed her hand around her necklace, one of the few pieces of jewelry remaining on her body, and began absentmindedly tugging.

"Peter," She said finally, her voice floating over the breaths.

"Yes?"

"Are you angry with me?"

The boy continued looking ahead.

"What for?"

He spoke with persistence, as if his question were a rhetorical one.

Serena closed her mouth and released her grip, gently touching the accessory with the tips of her fingers.

The walls slowly continued their even inhalation.

* * *

Louis brother was, for lack of a more perfect term, a musical prodigy. He mastered the piano at the tender age of ten, dominated the violin at thirteen, and could sing glorious opera at sixteen. His every breath consisted of oxygen, melody, and a light harmonious injection. His brain spoke in clefs and notes. However, this did not stifle his genius. He excelled in school, soaring ahead of all other faeries his age.

Despite his talents, however, as highly praised and admired as they were, he was never vain. He was a modest and humble man, throughout his childhood and adult life. He never fully accepted a compliment; choosing to respond to such commends with a simple, "Thank you, if you insist." He never performed for others; every song he sang or played was purely for his own enjoyment. Of course, making others happy gave him such joy that the two melded together in an unfortunate clash of similar chords. Louis remembered sneaking out of his bedroom at night, seeking a refreshing glass of water, and catching a glimpse of his brother hunched over his piano, quietly practicing for a concert in the morning.

Music is a male faeries greatest attribute. If one could not sing, such as Louis could not, there is a pebble of pity thrust upon them. No faerie wishes to see another suffer the jealousy and envy they believed them to be feeling. Of course, Louis was not ungrateful for the gift baskets and the endless amounts of chocolates showing up at his door, but he was not at all envious of his sibling. True, he wished for talent. But he did not wish for fame. Nor did he ever wish to fill his older brother's shoes. They were hard and worn, uncomfortable and stiff. Louis preferred shoes with wiggle room, his own were just the way he wanted.

Louis remembered the day of his brother's disappearance clearer than any other. He awoke that day to a crystal silence, so shear and strong, yet so breakable. His mother sat with her head in her hands, silently weeping as his father stared blankly at the sheet of paper between his course fingers. The words on which, scrawled in familiar windy hand writing, stated only the words, "Your son has left." No destination; no reason. Just the four words: Your son has left.

The town was silent for days, weeks, even months. Every time Louis would walk by, a shimmer of whispers would erupt from other pedestrians. Empathy and suspect tinted their curious eyes. Louis would be the perfect culprit; the younger brother, jealous of his sibling's talents. He would have the perfect motivation to drive his brother away.

Everyone knew this was not the case, but Louis' parents never looked at him quite the same. It was as if they had suddenly realized they had a second child. Louis abruptly gained more attention from his parents, both loving and hateful. He was not his brother, nor would he ever be or wish to be, and that affected them. They were no longer the parents of the prodigy; they were now the mother and father of the boy so miserable he ran away, and Louis.

Louis could only pray his brother found what he was looking for; preferably a land vacant of audiences.

* * *

"This one, this is my room."

Serena placed a soft hand on Peter's shoulder, signaling him to stop his importunate walking.

The boy blinked but did not look behind him or even at the wooden door.

"Oh, okay then. Have a good night."

The girl nodded slowly and wrapped her hand around the cool knob, quietly pushing the door open. As she slipped in, squeezing through the small hole she'd created, she almost missed Peter's voice.

"Serena?"

She pushed her head back out of the door frame, glancing at the back of the boy's blonde head.

"Yes?"

"Tomorrow, 6 AM, same place as last time. We'll use swords."

A feminine coy smile was all that followed as the door gradually came to a soft close.

* * *

**A/N Short I know, but present. I will try my hardest to get the next chapter up quicker than this one. Reviews are always appreciated, as well as constructive criticism :) And thank you to all who have reviewed, you have no idea how much it means to me  
**

**Peace and Love  
**


	19. Rain, Necklaces, and Blood

***DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN CON, ONLY MY ORIGINAL CHARACTERS**

**I guess there's not much I can say...school, life, stress, writers block and all of the about contributed to my inability to post this chapter until now...about 2 months late. I feel awful about the delay but hopefully since summer has finally arrived I will be able to post quicker (one or two chapters a month seems a fair minimum...I think a little bit more planning will be useful haha) but anyways, enough with apologies. Let's get on with (finally) the next installment! Happy reading :)**

* * *

Lily, no matter how hard she tried to grab hold of sleep, could not manage to summon the exhaustion needed to drift comfortably off to dreamland. Instead, she sat on her bed; legs neatly crossed, and playfully braided and un-braided the hair of her doll. Her lips moved relentlessly, the chirpy sound traveling to the ears of a very sleepy Edmund.

"Did you know that up until coming here I'd never seen a centaur before?"

"Really?"

"Yepp." Lily placed the final piece of hair into position. "Not a live one at least. I mean, I've seen them in books."

"That's nice."

Every so often Edmund would catch himself drifting off. The hard wood of his of his chair slowly softened as the minutes passed.

Lily was in hyperactive mode. Her tongue kept forming question upon question. Edmund had often heard that faeries, especially young ones, can get a certain kind of mirthful high after large bouts of laughter. He didn't realize exactly how mirthful until he was up to the wee hours of the night talking with one. Edmund wondered, only once or twice, however, why it was he listened. Why he didn't storm into Louis' room and demand that the tall man take his place. The answer, the thought that kept his legs glued to his chair, was that ever constant curiosity as to what her next question would be. What subsequent comment she would devise that would set her into a rage of childish giggles. She could be immature at times, but never failed to be impossibly entertaining.

"Edmund, can I ask you a question?"

"You're asking this time?" The boy chuckled, more to his palm than anything.

Lily smiled and held up her doll to face him. She twisted her face so that their ears stood parallel, faces towards Edmund.

"Do I look like her? The doll, I mean?"

At first Edmund wasn't quite sure if she was serious. He glanced at her and lifted his cheek off his hand. Her eyes, for the first time all night, had a flicker of austere in them. As if his answer actually mattered.

"Do you look like your doll?" Edmund reiterated.

Lily nodded, her mouth forming a straight line.

Edmund furrowed his eyebrows as he repositioned himself in his chair. He looked at Lily's face first dwindling on the odd seriousness, yet almost plaintive quality in her light eyes. He tried his best to soak in every feature, as to be precise when comparing the two. Blonde hair, extremely large eyes, petite face...

He felt the sudden realization hit him with the force of a bullet. The doll, the small ceramic person directly in his line of vision, was almost an exact copy of its bearer. The only difference the blank and dull stare coming from its' eye sockets. He didn't understand how he hadn't seen it before. He'd already known about and accepted her resemblance to dolls, but seeing it up close, performed in front of him, made it all the more eery.

Lily knew his answer before he could speak it. He realized his expression was a bit too obvious.

"We really look_ that_ much alike?"

Edmund blinked.

"Don't say it like it's a bad thing. It's actually very interesting."

"Interesting" Lily muttered under her breath. She looked _interesting_. Was that good or bad?

She watched as Edmund rubbed his eyes. It hadn't occurred to her that the boy was probably exhausted. She felt a surge of guilt pump through her heart.

"You can go to bed, you know."

The boy opened his eyes as looked at his friend. Had his answer offended her? He couldn't see how it would have...

"I'm fine, really."

Lily thought for a moment, and then opened her mouth and released what she hoped would give Edmund enough initiative to give himself a break and finally go to sleep.

A long, tired yawn.

* * *

The tips of the meadow grass had the faint yellow of dehydration dancing upon their green stems. They secretly yearned for the sweet fall of rain to quench their growing thirst. However, they continued to sway in the delicate wind, making the world believe they were as joyful as they appeared; a meadow full of happy grass.

Peter ran the flat edge of his sword along the inside of this index finger. The cool medal had become warm on his skin during his long reign, and even now, though years later, it was not quite as cold as it once was. It bared such a pride within itself, and to him. It had brought him all emotions possible; fear, joy, happiness, sadness. And even though it was used for battle, for killing as well as protecting, he loved it with all his heart. It brought him strength and power; the handle molded perfectly to fit his hands.

He waited outside for a half hour before Serena's distant figure appeared between the stone columns. He caught sight of her and lowered his sword, using his now free hand to wave her over.

Serena walked the length of the field, a small shrivel of fear growing inside her. She had never, truly fought before without the aid of some an outside substance. As horrible as it sounded in her own mind, a bit of her wished for another sip; if only to make the upcoming experience less painful.

"Good morning Peter." She said, once in earshot.

"Good morning. Here."

He reached behind him and retrieved a brown leather sword holster and proceeded to stick it between her hands.

"It is a training sword, as is mine. It weighs the same as a real one, but it's dull so misfires will not cause as much damage. But mind you, they are still sharp." He added as Serena began to run her finger along the blade.

"Now," Peter began, sheathing his real sword and unsheathing the other, "let's begin."

Peter spent the entirety of the morning showing Serena the most useful fighting positions for almost any situation she could get herself into, within reason.

Leg positions, arm positions, different sword holding techniques, and more.

They trained, for the most part, in silence; with an occasional remark or direction from Peter.

It added, positively, to their level of concentration, but Serena could not help but feel altered by the high amount of tension circulating through the air. Peter held a focused and blank look on his face, and had hardly met her eyes once during the three hours they had been training.

It took everything in Serena's body to hold her tongue. To not ask the boy opposite her if he was mad. A question which, she knew well enough would have been answered with a blatant lie.

And so they fought, for hours on end, in silence. Serena began feeling her body take over as her mind drifted through the meadow and into the tree branches, swaying calmly with the settling leaves. Perhaps they were the ones who warned her, told her that a storm was quickly on its way. For they began to sway quickly, billowed in the sudden orchestra of wind.

She wondered, for a moment, if rain would condemn their fighting abilities. If wet ground was really the safest to practice on. Perhaps it was her growing fatigue, or maybe her teeth had grown weak in their attempt to restrain the lion roaring quietly within her mouth. Either way, her lips parted, and words flooded to the ground.

"I think we should take a break."

It took a moment for Peter to register that she had spoken. He lowered his elevated sword slowly, as if trying to decide whether or not it was simply the wind.

"It looks like it might rain." She repeated, with more mirth than she would have wanted.

Peter eyed her incredulity. He stuck his sword lightly into the ground and leaned against the handle.

"If it starts to rain while we're battling the Telmarines, I don't think they're going to suggest we stop and continue inside."

Serena blinked and mimicked his movement.

"You didn't answer my question."

Peter smirked, though his eyes narrowed ever so slightly. He released his sword from the earth and swiftly touched it directly under her collar bone.

"Rain is not the issue."

His voice twanged with other intent, but Serena was far too wary to comment upon it. Peter lowered his sword and held it at the ready.

"Now, for offense."

* * *

Lily sat in front of a silvery mirror. She stared at a pink strand of ribbon and gently fingered it in her hands.

She had been awoken at an hour her body was not accustomed to by her sister's early departure. Sleep, unfortunately, refused to return. Her stomach muscles ached from the night before. She did have a habit of laughing too much.

Lily considered tying the ribbon in her hair, as she had done many times before. However, she felt the unending need to try something different and unexpected.

She wanted a look that would never be seen on the ceramic body of a doll.

She lifted her eyes from the ribbon and laid them upon her reflection, eying her appearance with sheepish attention.

Her hair was in loose braids, a plethora of single yellow wisps escaping the quickly plaited curls. However, in its own way, it looked kind of nice. Kind of free.

As she reached again for the ribbon, intending to put it in a drawer until she could figure out what to do with it, she heard footsteps in the hallway. One set paused before passing the door, the other set stopping soon after. Their familiar voices were muffled, but with a little bit of strain, Lily could hear them.

"Is this Edmund's room?" Caspian's smooth voice was barely audible through the thick wooden door.

"No Serena and Lily's, I believe."

"Oh, nevermind then."

"Looking for my brother?" Susan asked with curiosity and a hint of suspicion.

"I was just wondering if he ever ended up getting to bed." Caspian chuckled. "I felt bad for him, he told me he was going to stay with Lily until she fell asleep. The girl was wide awake, Susan." He added the last bit after the queen, Lily suspected, gave him a look.

"I'm sure they both slept fine. Besides, Edmund probably knew what he was getting into." Susan had decisiveness to her voice, as if she wanted nothing more than to change the subject and keep on walking. "He sometimes stays with Lucy until she falls asleep. It's just his older brother instinct kicking in. Now come on, we should go to breakfast."

The sound of muffled footsteps restarted and faded as Caspian and Susan headed towards the dining area.

Lily turned away from the door and gazed back into the mirror. She suddenly realized the despicable state of her hair. Pieces stuck out in every direction. She looked positively _juvenile._

She followed a particularity noticeable escapee down to the foot of her neck. Just underneath her collarbone, sitting comfortably a top her cool skin was a simple golden necklace, molded into the shape of a lily flower. It had grown so dull over the years that light barely sparkled off its metallic casing, making it look almost melancholy in the sunlight. She realized, for the first time in her life, that it was an ugly piece of jewelry. She figured that it only remained around her neck, gently denting the fine membrane of her skin, because it had been a present from her father. One of the only gifts he had ever given her.

Lily reached for it, and wrapped her fingers around the warm metal. She could not remember the precise time or situation when she got it. For as long as she could remember it had always been plastered around her neck. While other pieces of faerie – and non faerie- jewelry was removed and applied, this one jewel of simplicity remained, as it always had. Ever since early childhood.

How had she never realized its ugliness? Its once golden facade, now a dingy orange clashed dreadfully with her eyes and hair. Absentmindedly her fingers traveled up the rough chain towards the small clasp behind her head. Her finger lingered, however, as if not sure whether or not it wanted to move.

A soft rapping began on the outside of her door.

"Lily, it's time for breakfast."

She looked away from the mirror and towards the sound of Edmund's voice.

"I'll be there in a minute!"

She quietly cleared her throat, he voice sounding far too high for her liking.

Her eyes then found her reflection and her fingers undid the clasp. The metal creaked with years of togetherness, as if crying from the separation. She placed the flower into the palm of her hand, and twirled the thin chain into a small heap on top of it. She opened her drawer and placed the necklace carefully next to the others.

When her eyes re-met the mirror, their gaze dwindling on her bare neck, she felt a heat of maturity rise into her as it had never done before. She grasped the pink ribbon of the table, wrapped it around her neck, and tied a precise bow on the right side. She undid her braids, gave a quick fluff to her hair, and went to the door. With a breath and a pull, she happily greeted the young boy behind it.

* * *

The sky had the angry beauty of an impending storm when the first drops began to fall. Clouds hung like puffs of gray cotton, their corners shining with the white light of the heavens. At first the rain was light, barely noticeable in the warm air. But as the minutes rolled passed, and the sky's fury blazed, it began to pelt the ground, drenching all objects in its path.

Water droplets dripped down Serena and Peter's faces. At moments when an eye quickly darted over the others' figure, the image that the other was crying entered and left their minds.

The rain sounded like clanging orchestrations. Loud bangs of cymbals and drums cascaded through the air, colliding with the sharp slap of metal.

It was frightening.

"Peter, I think we should take a break."

Serena squinted her eyes; a vain attempt to keep the water from entering her eye sockets. But it was no use. She found herself rapidly blinking, trying ferociously to keep her vision clear.

The grass was slick and slippery. Combined with the intense visual impairment, Serena felt her safety shrinking into oblivion.

Peter didn't answer her. From what she could gather, his face remained frozen with intense focus. He raised his sword and started at her. In an attempt to negate his attack, she slipped mildly upon the wet grass. Although remaining upright, her heart skipped a multitude of beats.

"Peter!"

No answer. He lunged towards her again, this time slicing through the thick fabric of her over shirt, an accident, she assumed. Serena felt a fear rising in her heart, bursting into a thousand flames as a crash of thunder shook the meadow.

"Peter, seriously! The rain!"

This time he answered; his voice groggy, as if filling with water.

"If it starts raining when the Telmarines-"

He paused and pulled close to her, his sword pressing against here. There was a fire in his eyes that Serena had never witnessed before.

"Just stay focused!"

He pushed himself away using his sword for momentum, and proceeded to whip it back in her direction, taking her off guard.

Serena screamed, ducking out of the way. She held her sword in front of her face as he swung again, more as protection than as a defensive mechanism.

She heard a feminine yelp that she realized, a bit too late, came from her own mouth.

"Don't be such a coward!" Peter screamed, "If I were a Telmarine, you'd be dead right now!"

His footsteps drew closer to her, with a pace that insisted he was getting ready to charge. Serena gripped her sword.

The rain fell hard and their weapons flew fast. The shine from the metal was almost impossible to distinguish from the glisten of human flesh.

Water crashed on either side, filling their eardrums with an orchestra of pelting water droplets. Serena felt her weapon become jelly in her fingers. She could no longer feel where it ended and where it began. It was invisible.

She didn't realize she'd hit something until a sharp cry filled the air, matching perfectly with the crescendo of thunder rolling over the hills.

Her eyelashes blinked the water away from her eyes so she could per chance catch a glimpse at her opposition; but she could not see him, he was gone.

"P-Peter?" She asked.

She stopped her movements and lowered her sword.

"Pete-"

Her foot bumped a soft object. she felt her body freeze with anticipation. Through the veil of water she could see a mass of red, mixed with a mess of gold.

_Peter. _She opened her mouth to say his name, but a mass of guilt chocked her throat. She glanced at her sword. Patches of red slowly ran down the silver edges, colliding with the grass in a thin waterfall of blood.

As she watched each crimson drop fall, panic gripped her in a scalding hot grasp. She just slashed the High King. His blood painted her weapon. What if he died? Would she be executed? Even if he lived, she would surely be punished. She could run away. Drop her weapon and break for the woods. They'd never be able to find her – she was a faerie, was she not? Faeries can navigate woodlands better than any creature. Can't they-

Serena blinked as she was brought out of her reverie by the sound of Peter's coughing. No doubt he was getting water and blood in her mouth. And as fast as a bolt of obvious lightning, it hit her.

She placed her sword haphazardly upon the grass and knelt on the ground beside Peter.

He moaned quietly, his hand glued to his face. Serena placed a light fingertip on his forearm, trying to feel her way.

He flinched at her touch.

"Peter, it's me."

The boy made a noise that resembled a cough – though it sounded much more like an intentionally stifled moan.

"Are you okay?" Serena asked gently. Though she instantly regretted the palpable and stupid question.

Peter formed what Serena supposed was meant to be a laugh.

"What do you think – you skewered me."

The corners of the girl's mouth twitched. She moved her hand along his arm until she reached his fingers. When she tried to move them, however, Peter batted her hand away.

"Pete-

"No, you don't need to heal me. I'm fine"

His voice betrayed his words, seeming pained by their mere formation.

Serena pressed her lips together, forcing them to swallow her instinctive sarcasm and form kinder words.

"You're bleeding."

She tried to move his hand again, but he tensed.

"I've bled before."

"You're bleeding a lot."

"I've bled a lot befo-"

"Peter, it's not a big deal!"

She paused in order to suppress her growing aggravation. Why was he being so stubborn? "You, you have to let me."

Peter tried to glance at her, but realized with dismay that his right eye could not be utilized. He didn't want her to heal him. Faerie aid, and the need for it, was the absolute last path that he wanted to travel down.

Nevertheless, his body ached. The recent onslaught of pain only brought upon the realization that he was far more tired than he thought. He'd spent the majority of the night staring at the ceiling, waiting for Edmund to return to their bedroom. He needed desperately to tell his brother what Serena had told him. He needed Edmund to tell him what to feel. Because at the moment, he felt nothing. Usually this would not have fazed him. Why should he be concerned with nothing? It was only the knowledge that, if he had been told the same information before, if not only days before, he would have been furious. Faeries were liars and cheats and used black magic for their own personal gain. He would have been seething to know he'd let himself trust one, let her fight beside him, only to be inevitably tricked. However, for some reason beyond his comprehension, no fury nor anger nor hatred stirred within him. It was perspicacity that felt as bland as the weather or dry gossip. He pined to see Edmund's reaction. He hoped that witnessing his sibling's response would allow him to adopt his own.

Peter feared that without this, he would go about the situation in the absolute wrong way. Yet, as the night drew lighter, and his brother remained elsewhere in the How- with Lily, Peter figured- he felt his eyelids become heavy, and before he could stop himself, he was fast asleep.

He awoke a few hours later, the light of dawn keenly stinging his sensitive eyes, to see Edmund curled in his bed.

He didn't think waking his brother was a good idea at the time, but now, as white hot pain seared through his face, he realized that it would have been worth the grump. Perhaps then the day would have gone a little differently.

Peter sighed. Reluctantly, with his pride crumpling within his fingers, he slowly dropped is saturated hand.

Underneath revealed a line of gushing blood that began above his right eye and traveled downward beneath his jaw; ending right below his collar bone. Serena would have gasped, but she didn't want Peter to become anxious.

So much for "safe" swords.

Serena drew her fingers along his hand. She gave it a light, reassuring squeeze before directing her attention to his wound.

She ran her hand along his face, flinching as her nerves pressed against the warm, sticky blood. Her touch was soft and purposeful, as if feeling each cell repaired itself.

Peter moaned in relief as the pain began to meld away. A feeling of numbness engulfed his body. Suddenly the world seemed to cease, except for the soft tingles her hand left on his skin.

A quiet settled in the atmosphere. All he could think of was the warmth of her fingers, and the wetness of his blood. He had never been healed by the hand of a creature. He now realized how amazing it felt.

As she drew her finger along his collar bone, sewing up the last bit of open flesh, the rain once again began to pour and the air regained its chill. Life restarted from where it had left off.

"Thank you." He said finally as his voice re-grew in his vocal chords. The words were surprising to both present.

"Anytime." Serena smiled, inconspicuously wiping her hand upon the damp grass. The rain fell gentler now, more of a drizzle than a full on down pour.

"You should probably stay seated." Serena advised as Peter gave a wobbly attempt at standing up. Healing may have fixed his wounds, but no amount of faerie magic could replenish the blood in his veins.

* * *

"Good, the rain seems to be letting up." Serena said, folding her previously outstretched palm into a light fist. They had sat for a half an hour in complete silence. Every so often Peter would try to stand, but his lack of blood forced him to remain on the ground. Serena contemplated running into the How to find a centaur to bring Peter inside, but she could not shake the fear that she would be punished for harming the High King. Besides, he didn't seem like he was in much of a rush either.

"I thought faeries loved nature? I would think rain would be on your favorites list." Peter said after a few minutes.

"What?"

"You don't seem to like the rain. I'd have thought you would."

Serena looked at the boy. He had his face tilted towards the sky, as if the clouds were blessing his eyes. She hadn't noticed this before, but there was a tiny, nearly invisible white line running down the side of his face.

"Well, it's not that I dislike it. It can just become bothersome."

"I see."

"Plus, I've never been as in to natural phenomena as some faeries are." Serena added, following his gaze. Small rays of healthy sunlight burst through the clouds, illuminating the earth.

Peter made a low guttural noise of understanding.

"You don't come across as a normal faerie."

Serena glanced at him again. There were blood stains on his clothes. She felt her stomach lurch.

"Is that a good thing?"

Peter met her gaze. For the first time Serena swore she saw a flash of tenderness in his blue eyes.

"I'd say it is. Although, I must concur," He picked at a crimson splotch on his shirt, "it does have its advantages."

Serena couldn't help the pull at the edges of her mouth. Peter broke his gaze and looked down at his hand. He opened his mouth, but paused before speaking, as if contemplating whether or not he should.

"Would you mind if we kept this our little secret?"

Serena furrowed her eyebrows.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, don't tell anyone that you had to heal me, or that I was hurt."

A surge of joy spread through Serena, warming the tips of her fingers and toes. She kept her face blank, however. Best he didn't know her fears.

"Why?"

Peter hesitated a moment, eyes still locked on his hand.

"I made a mistake. I should have stopped the lesson when the rain became too much. I apologize, I do. But I would rather not add another bullet of foolishness to my list."

There was a flicker of sadness in his expression. Though almost undetectable, it had definitely been there. Serena scooted herself closer to him.

"Your list is short. I doubt it would matter, you know. But I won't tell. I promise."

She assured him when he looked at her, his eyes unreadable.

She knew in her heart that he would never want to admit that he needed a faerie to heal him. Faerie magic was generally not regarded in the best of lights, and the fact that he, of all people, needed its assistance would have looked disgraceful at best.

She considered mentioning this. She wondered how he would respond- whether he would tell the truth or lie. Her words were cast aside, however, by the enormous, and extremely audible, eruption in her stomach.

Peter laughed.

"Hungry are we?"

It became plain by the height of the emerging sun that breakfast had long since passed, and lunch would probably be ending soon.

Just as she was about to open her mouth to respond, an identical grumble came from Peter's direction. She smirked as his hands absentmindedly flew to his abdomen.

"Well, I don't know. Are you?"

* * *

**A/N: Oh silly chapter, you're finally free!**

**BTW If anyone has any questions they would like to ask me about this story -whether specific or general- simply PM me or ask it in a review. I will be extremely happy to either give you a direct answer, say that it will be answered in later chapters, and/or will incorporate it into later chapters so that all confusion will be cleared up. **

**Any and all feedback is lovely :)**

**Peace and Love  
**


	20. Plans, Epiphanies, and Intruders

**I feel bad for the lateness of this installment, I really do. However, I could dwindle on apologies, but I feel there is better use of time. Enjoy reading :)**

* * *

Peter Pevensie had once read that testosterone -the male sex hormone- is the main contributor to male anger and their impulsive, risk taking actions. Estrogen, on the other hand, provides many females with calmness and self- control. At the time, Peter had taken this information as nothing more than mere scientific material whose memorization was crucial for a passing mark. But now, as he raked his fingers with irritated, rhythmic timing upon the hard wood of the meeting table, he wished he had ripped up the pages of his science book and thrown them in the fireplace.

"The Telmarines are going to attack any moment now! It would be foolish to just stay here and wait for them to find us."

A little white flame was burning in the center of Susan's eyes, her skin red with frustration.

"What do you suppose we do then? Run out blindly into the woods and seek them out? That's a suicide mission waiting to happen."

Caspian spoke with the perfect amount of cheek. He sat with his hands entwined on the table. He looked unnaturally serene.

Susan stepped forward and placed her palms on the hard oak wood.

Her voice had begun to fade from Peter's mind, as did Caspian's. For nearly half an hour they had bickered. All arguments were centered around the same contemplative issue: Whether to find the Telmarines, or have them find us.

Now Peter, as difficult as it was for him to comprehend, agreed with Caspian. The Telmarines were, clearly, predicable unless thrown into unpredictable circumstances. The latter, with unprecedented dismay, was a fact that Peter had to accept was the very definition of his life. It would be safer for everyone to prepare and be ready when the Telmarines came. Better to keep their numbers high then dwindle them and realize too late they had made the absolute wrong decision.

Susan was just being difficult.

He looked sideways, his eyes meeting the side of Edmund's head. His brother was either deep in thought, or had managed to fall asleep. But as everyone knows, great thinkers think with their eyelids tightly shut. It seals in their deep, eye-opening thoughts.

There were days when Peter truly did envy Edmund. If not for anything but the fewer weights pressing down on his shoulders. Edmund _could_ fall asleep at a meeting when there was an ongoing argument between two participants. He _was _the younger king, after all. Not the High King. Peter could never do such a thing. Ever.

But goodness did he want to.

For the past three days he had been training non-stop with Serena. From dawn to dusk -with breaks for meals and occasional military meetings - he taught her to fight. She had improved immensely, but he still feared she would not fare well in actual battle. She wasn't an aggressive swordsman. Her hits were weak at best, but her technique was almost perfect. She _could_ hit him. A few times she'd even taken him by surprise. However, if her sword had been sharp, and Peter a 40 year old Telmarine, she would be as good as dead. Of course, perhaps when fighting an enemy she would strike with more force, but then again, Peter was not the scariest, nor largest, opponent she could face on the battlefield.

And, there were moments when they were buried deep in a mock fight, that Peter would see a ray of faerie illuminate her face. That shrill, dance of mischief that covered her expression right before she goes in for an attack. It was both awful and brilliant, all at once.

On a few occasions, since the rainy morning not 3 days ago, Peter found himself shuddering. Shuddering from every memory that morning formed inside his brain. His foolishness was incomprehensible. He let his anger, or perhaps lack thereof, consume his better judgment. He had managed to get himself horribly hurt, nearly killed. His shudders increased at the notion that had they been using real swords, 'nearly' may have been a very, very relative term. With such thoughts came the never leaving, shiver inducing, albeit calming memory of his skin sewing back together. Of Serena's hand moving along his face, fixing his wounds with a kind of magic he hoped never to experience.

Their subsequent lessons had been completely professional and uneventful. No further conversations surrounding that morning passed from their mouths. And yet, Peter wished, if not only a small section of his mind, that they would. He wanted so greatly to ask her why she could do what she had done. Why he felt what he had felt. Why -and this question he pondered the most- she was so unlike the faeries he knew about. Why she fell into such a slim amount of categories faeries were respectively placed in. She made him contemplate things he didn't wish to contemplate. Gave his mind another concept and thought to wrap itself around. He feared that one day it would stretch out so thin that his head would explode and bits and pieces of his inner musings would scatter on the floor for the world to see. He found himself second guessing decisions he had already ruled as absolute. And this worried him deeply.

At this point the idea of potions had been pushed so deep into his mind, and was blanketed and kept in place by such bottomless levels of emotion that it practically melded to the inside of his skull.

The mix of voices that had begun to melt into one, melodious sound in Peter's tired mind was suddenly interrupted by a loud rapping. As Peter found himself jolted out of his short reverie, he realized the sound was coming from his youngest sister.

"For the love of Aslan, will you both just please be quiet! At this rate the Telmarines will attack and we'll still be in here listening to you two argue."

Lucy dug her nails into the table, her face the color of the strawberries Peter and Serena had collected what felt like a lifetime ago.

Caspian and Susan froze, their mouths still open, words hanging lamely in the air. Lucy very rarely raised her voice so loud.

"W-why don't we compromise." Edmund began with a stutter, looking very much awake. "We can send a select few groups out to look for Telmarines, and keep the majority of our army here. That way they can notify us of their location and we can be prepared no matter what."

Peter eyed his brother. Edmund had a slight tendency to create elaborate, most of the time spur of the moment ruses. Perhaps he had been thinking after all.

"Sounds like a plan to me." Peter agreed. His tone indicated that there was no longer room for discussion. Susan and Caspian slurped their unsaid words and swallowed hard.

Lucy nodded. "I will go notify Trumpkin then." This meeting had been strictly for the five royals. She exited without looking back.

Peter watched her leave, feeling an overwhelming surge of pride simmer in his body. She was becoming a queen again.

It took all of ten seconds for Peter to come up with an excuse for leaving the uncomfortably silent room. He had told Serena he would come for her and hour after lunch. That was and estimated ninety minutes ago.

"I really must be going. There is training to be done."

Serena tugged her wool blanket over her knees. The soft scratches it left on her cold skin barely phased her attention. She was buried in pages.

Upon finishing dinner that night, after an early decision that a nightly lesson would not be taking place, the memory of a certain book sprouted in her mind.

"The Young Monarchs of The Golden Age."

She found herself running to her bedroom and dumping the contents of her bedside table on the ground.

For a reason she could not quite calibrate, the book intrigued her now more than it ever had before. As if it's words held some unknown secret she was desperate to discover - although she did not quite know why.

She realized, as she completed the first chapter entitled "A Road To Thrones", that she was reading the book not as fiction or even nonfiction, but as a guide book. They were no longer stories, but past lives written plainly upon slightly yellowed paper. The one thing the Kings and Queens of old could not keep hidden were their pasts.

She had devoured almost half the book in two hours, vacuuming each sentence into her eye sockets with an astonishing amount of force. Her eyes locked, however, on a certain chapter, titled, "The High King and his Narnians." Underneath bared the titles of subchapters -all listing the names of Peter's "Narnians." Three down, written in familiar slanted script, was the word: Faeries.

She felt her fingers dwindle on the rough page corner. She knew how faeries had been treated and looked upon and was well aware of the King's views. But...

He had called her a different kind of faerie. Whether that was an insult of a compliment, she had yet to determine.

A loud knock shook her bones until she feared they would break beneath her skin. She closed the book with a smack (almost flattening her fingers in the process) and shoved it under her pillow.

"Peter?"

"Yes," the familiar voice said behind her door, "sorry I'm late"

* * *

"The Telmarines are not going to get us this time. In order to ensure that this happens, we need to be one step ahead. Always. We are going to send out two search parties, or scouts, maybe? The name doesn't matter."

A few placed sniggers arose from the large crowd. Edmund stifled a smile as he continued.

"One group will travel to the dam," Edmund paused and placed his well rounded stick atop the crudely drawn map he had created not ten minutes before. It was held, viewable to all, by two extremely tall centaurs.

"And one, will make its way towards the Telmarine fortress. Each group will look for any sign of Telmarine inhabitance or, take extra caution if this occurs, a live Telmarine. If anyone sees anything, they are to notify either Biyor or Biyer, "He gestured towards two, nearly identical dark brown gryphons. Their heads sat poised in the air.

"Who will then come notify either my siblings, Prince Caspian, or myself"

He stepped down from a rather high rock and nodded to the centaurs. His map fell to the ground with a soft plop.

"Now" he said, absentmindedly running his hands together. "Each group will need at least ten, not counting Biyor or Biyer. I will be leading the group to the dam, and will lead the other. Are there any volunteers?"

A small cluster of eager Narnians surrounded the brunette king, offering their assistance in any way shape or form. Lily sat on a stone bench next to Louis, not taking her eyes off the chaos.

Many were second guessing their quick decisions. Some who had originally stood up right on the spot shriveled to the back of the crowd and immersed themselves in a meaningless conversation.

"I've noticed a few things over the course of the hour." Louis' voice caught Lily by surprise.

"First, this is a fantastic idea. King Edmund is really ahead of this game."

Lily smiled. She hadn't really been listening. She'd been staring at Edmund. Had he noticed that she looked so much older?

"-Second."

Lily blinked, realizing Louis was still talking. He turned his head in her direction.

"You aren't wearing your necklace."

Lily furrowed her eyebrows for a split second and then shot her hand to her neck. Oh yeah, she wasn't.

"I know."

"Well you obviously know, my dear. Your knowledge of its absence is not was I was referring to. My question, is why?"

"I wanted a change."

"And why's that?"

Lily opened her mouth to respond, but was stifled by a small crumple sounding on her right side.

Louis had stood up.

"Sounds like an adventure, this plan of Edmund's." He said, a gleam in his eyes. "Don't you agree?"

Louis didn't wait for an answer (but bent his hand purposefully in her direction) before pushing himself, if not prancing the assembly surround Edmund. As he reached the front -a slight bruise in the shape of a horn forming on his left shoulder - he acquired the King's attention through a firm tap on the shoulder.

"Your majesty, I offer my services to this plan of yours wholly and heartily." He lowered his head slightly in regards to Edmund, who smiled and took his friend's hand.

"Thank you, your assistance will be greatly appreciated."

As Edmund made a motion to turn and take up the proposal of yet another eager Narnian Louis glanced back at Lily and arched his eyebrows.

Was he asking her to offer herself as well?

It was Louis, of course he was.

Lily felt a laugh bubble in her abdomen as Louis made a subtle hand gesticulation waving her over. When had she ever, ever appeared interested in these sorts of endeavors? Louis _knew_ that.

She turned her head to the right, readying herself to shake it, refusing Louis' offer, when a draft tickled her collar bone.

Nothing was there.

She let her fingers graze against her bare skin, ignoring the ribbon nestled around her neck. Her legs moved without her immediate direction. Bodies of eager Narnians were blurs beside her. She bee-lined until Edmund and his brown hair were in ear shot. Her hand still rested against her collar bone when she opened her mouth.

"Me too." She spoke weakly at first, but then repeated at a much higher volume, "Edmund, I offer my assistance as well."

Edmund whipped his head in her direction, almost losing his footing.

"Lily," He began, a scent of humor in his voice, as to hide his confusion and not release his hold on the other Narnians. "I don't think that's a very good idea-"

A small murmur of laughter shimmered over the crowd. Lily narrowed her eyes and fought to cool the warmth growing in her cheeks.

"And why's that?" She asked, hand still in place.

"Well," Edmund sought for the appropriate words, "I just never thought military excursions were really your forte-"

"You're going into the forest." Lily interrupted, a smile on her lips. "I'm a faerie. I think you can figure out the rest."

Edmund bit the inside of his lip. She may have had a point, but the forests she were familiar with were calm and peaceful. There was a hope in her eyes that he hated to drain, but his ability to be a good leader came first. If she saw a Telmarine - or worse was attacked by one - she could endanger the plan, or worse, herself. Edmund sighed.

"I'm sorry Lily, but we don't need anyone else. Maybe next time." He then nodded curtly and walked away, picking up conversation with the gryphons. Perhaps just in the nick of time as well, for Lily's expression tensed so tightly, her eyes almost disappeared.

* * *

Peter crossed his legs until he felt a slight pull in each hamstring. His palms pressed firmly into the soft grass, the atmosphere cooled as the day drew to a close, but Peter's cheeks remained red from the heat of exercise.

Serena lay on her back a few feet in front of him, her eyes nestled into the crease of her arm. They had trained well over the last couple of hours, however, well, implements hard. They both felt the overwhelming tickle of exhaustion shimmer through their bodies. It had almost been inaudibly decided that this would be their last practice.

A silence fell over them, broken only by the come and go of unsynchronized breathing. For a week they had trained, such a short yet such a long period of time. Serena wondered, her voice breaking the still atmosphere,

"Do you think I'm ready?"

Peter ceased rubbing his sore leg and glanced at her.

"What do you mean?"

"Do you think I'm prepared to battle the Telmarines? If called for, that is."

Peter released his thigh and pursed his lips. These daily sessions had become so common, they felt more like annual occurrences than actual preparation for an oncoming war.

"Do you think your prepared?"

Serena lowered her arm and looked him in the eye, though the slight gleam of sunlight obscured her view.

"If I have to be, then yes."

Peter nodded. A sudden but fleeting pain behind his right eye grabbed hold of his lips and squeezed his throat.

"But, can you promise me something?"

Serena deepened her stare. "What?"

A smile blossomed on Peter's face.

"That you'll heal me again the next time you decide to ram your sword into my face."

Serena's mouth opened in mock offense.

"Excuse me! You were the one who thought it would be smart to attack me in the pouring rain!"

"Hey, don't you go about blaming the weather for your weapon inabilities!"

Serena responded to the boy's laugh by lunging at him playfully with her fist. However, much to her dismay, Peter caught her hand mid-punch. His fingers fell into the closed spaces between hers, his thumb delicately grazing her index finger. For the first time since the rain storm, he met her eyes. Seriousness webbed around his tongue.

"I'm sorry."

Serena opened her mouth to ask, "for what?" but was silenced when a familiar, yet oddly unmelodious voice called her name.

"Serena, I need to talk to you."

Peter dropped Serena's hand and they both turned. Lily stood with her arms firmly folded across her pale dress, her eyes brimmed with an emotional red. Serena furrowed her eyebrows.

"Of course, what is it?"

Lily parted her mouth but glanced over in Peter's direction. He understood immediately.

"I think that's my cue then. I'll see you later Serena. Lily."

He stood, stretched quickly, and dipped his head to them both. He collected both practice swords in his arms before heading back to the How.

Lily watched until he was out of sight and then plopped on the ground.

"You train so much Serena. It does worry me sometimes." Her eyes dwindled on a yellow flower, just within picking distance. Yet made no movement to pluck it and place it in her hair.

Serena scooted closer to her sister, her eyes momentarily watching the entrance to The How. As if expecting something, or someone, to appear.

"You've never told me that."

Lily continued to stare at the flower.

"I didn't realize it until today." She finally looked up at Serena, albeit cautiously. "You looked so tired."

"Lily, you know I'm just training. I have to be prepared for when.." Serena cut herself off. Lily's face contorted into one of almost unsurpassable rage.

"You can say, 'war' you know. Or 'battle.' Or 'fight." I'm not a child, I can handle it."

"Lily, I didn't mean-"

"Yes you did, all of you do. You know, I still don't even really know what happened at the raid. Granted, I thought I didn't want to, but I doubt anyone would have told me anyways."

Serena almost didn't believe her sister's anger. "Do you want me to tell you what happened?"

Lily sighed loudly and pushed herself off the ground. She twirled with irritation.

"That's not the point, Serena! The point is that, that, that I'm nothing but a faerie, a baby." She seemed to lose her footing and slumped to the ground. Serena rushed towards her. What was happening to her?

"Lily, please. Tell me what's going on." She reached for her sister but was rejected. Lily pulled her knees to her forehead.

"I offered to join Edmund, in one of his stupid group things. And he said no, said it wasn't safe. It's clear he just doesn't think I'm good enough." Her voice trailed off as she was threatened with tears. For once in her life, she refused to let them come. "Is that what you meant, when you said not to let faerie status define us? Is this what you try to avoid?"

Serena's eyes softened. She rubbed Lily's forearm gently. She could barely keep her words straight.

"Yes, it is." However, despite the truth in her qualms, the strength Lily lacked most of all was persistence. And it was perhaps the most important one for her to have.

Serena felt the grass behind her and caught the distinct softness of a flower petal. She moved her fingers downward until the thin stem was trapped within her fingers. She pulled gently.

"Lily, Edmund doesn't think that you're not-" Serena was forced to swallow her cliché condolences when Lily scoffed at her words.

Serena drew closer to her sister, burying her lips in the hair near her ear, and whispered,

"Well, whether or not you choose to believe it, it's the truth. However, next time, if the same situation again occurs, refuse to take no for an answer."

The yellow flower, slightly crushed from the fingers that had enveloped it, was carefully placed behind Lily's ear. The petals matched her hair color perfectly.

* * *

The sun had fallen asleep and it's brother, the glowing moon, took its place in the sky. Its beams, which were stark against the dark of night, crept through the small windows of Aslan's How and tickled the eyelids of it's inhibitors.

The surrounding forests, which stood like emerald giants in the dark, whispered to one another, mimicking the rustle of leaves and sighs of the breeze. Something, or someone, uninvited lurked near their roots. Souls of their murdered brothers warned them, singing poignantly that their killers were near. The forests darkened, hoping to blind the intruders. And they listened, listened well and hard, as the lurkers spoke, in hushed murmurs.

"We're almost there." One said, his voice middle aged and gruff. "Those barbarians have left a candle or two lit, can you not see them?"

"Oh, I see." Another piped in the darkness, his voice was smoother, younger. "Lord Miraz will be pleased."

Their voices ceased and were replaced my quick movements that headed deeper into the forest. The trees' whispers increased, creating an invisible chill along the spine of the younger.

Their whispers awoke a sleeping wood nymph. They urged her to alert the How. The trees had never sounded so frightened, so horrified. She floated over the vast meadow, hoping she was invisible to the array of ghosts that invaded her mind's eye.

She rode upon a moon beam through a small window, entering the room of High King Peter and King Edmund. They slept deeply, but the nymphs frantic warnings awoke them within moments.

"There are male intruders in the forests. They know you're here."

She left as soon as her message was heard, not waiting to see her King's reactions. She floated back to her tree and fell asleep once more. She could sense a war was close, and rest would be an elegant tool to obtain.

Peter and Edmund sat wide eyed on their beds, the nymph's terrified outline blazed into their corneas. In a few hours dawn would be upon them. They finally met each other's gazes, and Peter stated, his voice strained but calm,

"You're plan was a good one, Edmund. But I'm afraid it came a bit too late."

* * *

**A/N: Yay new chapter! I am going to work on uploading sooner, but for now I hope you enjoyed!**

**Peace and Love**


	21. Foot Erosion, New Plans, and Tears

***DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN THE CON ONLY MY ORIGINAL CHARACTERS AND IDEAS. And here comes chap chap 21! Hooray! I'm getting closer to the parts of the story where my heart lies and can't wait to show them to you! :D**

** And although I know I don't reply to as many as I really should and mean to, I really do appreciate every single one of my reviews :) They mean so very much to me.**

**Happy reading!**

* * *

Edmund Pevensie was whom one might call a nervous pacer. However he rarely paced for hope of new ideas, but rather out of worry and the panic-induced need for inspiration.

He must have passed his bedroom door at least one hundred times, each stride distancing about two feet from the handle before pivoting and continuing in the opposite direction. Peter had run off to wake Lucy, Susan and Caspian, and left Edmund to watch for any other messages surrounding the Telmar intruders. Mon Dieu, the Telmarines were coming and Edmund felt achingly unprepared.

"If this floor were made of wood, I would be less worried. But alas, it is made of stone, and I fear your feet will soon erode down to the bone, your majesty."

Edmund paused, ignoring the twitch in his legs to continue, and took in Louis' form beside him. The tall man stood coolly against the wall, light hair tied as always, an irritatingly calm expression on his face. Edmund inhaled quietly,

"I have thick shoes, I'm sure I'll be fine."

"But you are not wearing them."

Edmund glanced down at his feet, more out of habit than actual belief, and there were his toes, bare against the gray floor. Had he actually forgotten to put on slippers? He shoved his fingers through his dark hair. "I'm sorry Louis, but this is not a very good time."

"Actually, this is a perfectly good time. The Telmarines are close, best thing to do is keep your mind clear, my king."

"How did you-?"

"Your brother is a heavy runner, and a loud whisperer." Louis chuckled, eyes glimmering. "I wouldn't be surprised if he has woken half the How."

"Hmm, perhaps that is best." Edmund replied, his eyes peering beyond Louis, "best not to have anyone vulnerable. Serena?"

A clattering of straw-made flat shoes filled the small hallway, connecting quickly to Serena's disheveled form."Louis, Edmund," she spoke, her words slurred, "will someone please tell me what is going on!" There was a red indented line pattern gently puckering her right cheek and her curls laid savagely untamed against her head. "There was a female centaur sobbing by my room."

"Did Lily wake up as well?"

Serena did a double take at the randomness of Edmund's question, but replied, "no, when she's really tired the world could ending and she'd sleep through it. Is everything okay?"

Edmund opened his mouth to respond, but was interrupted by Louis' overly fluid voice. "We have received a concerning alarm that the Telmarines have perpetrated the great forest surrounding us."

Serena's eyes widened. She turned to the young king. "Wait, what?"

Edmund sighed. The soft, carefree touch of a feather pillow had never before sung so beautifully from within his bed chamber. "Yes, yes it's all true. Peter and I received news from a nymph that there are Telmarines in the forest." His voice rose a bit, "why would she be really tired?"

"Who?"

"Lily."

Serena was still a bit groggy from sleep. "Oh, we were just up late talking and she was having trouble getting to sleep. So what's going to happen then?"

"What were you talking about?" Edmund's voice had the bizarre shrill of a child's.

"Nothing concerning you!" She snapped. A response which almost definitely confirmed Edmund's fears.

Serena asked again, a bit more frantic this time, "What do you think is going to happen now?"

"There's no need to panic. Peter and everyone else are coming up with a plan as we speak."

Serena ignored his comment. "You don't think there will be a battle this soon, do you?" A hand unconsciously grazed over her sore biceps.

"Don't fret my dear, as our king said, everything is under control." Louis placed a hand on Serena's shoulder, his eyes delicately consuming Edmund's worn out expression. A muffled eruption of worried noises began to simmer below them, slowly growing in amplitude. "It appears that Peter has awoken more than just I."

Edmund groaned. "Can anything else go wrong!"

Serena rubbed the boy's shoulder with a newfound clumsy tenderness. "Can we do anything to help, Ed?"

Edmund glanced at her hand, furrowed his eyebrows, and nodded. "Would you two mind keeping the How panic free?"

"We would love to do nothing else. Come!" Louis beckoned Serena towards the stairwell to the lower residential chambers. Once they were out of sight, Edmund let his legs take over, but not before slipping into his bed chamber and protecting his soles from erosion. He promised to bury his guilt in his feet until everything was taken care of.

* * *

"There is no need to panic, everything is under control!"

"But what are we going to _do _Peter?" Susan's voice seethed with worry, "we are not yet prepared for battle!"

Peter exhaled loudly and struck the meeting room table with the palms of his hands, hard. "How did this happen so fast?"

"It is not your fault, your majesty." said Glenstorm, who even in times of trouble stood with an unbreakable confidence. "It is nobody's fault but the Telmarines."

"Glenstorm is right, we must focus on dealing with the problem instead of fretting about how and why it was allowed to happen."

Peter agreed with his brother, a boy who's utter exhaustion slurred his just words. His nymph watch had been taken over by Biyor, but his legs still unconsciously itched for movement.

The High King ignored a quiet comment of Trumpkin's relating to the earliness of the hour, as Caspian garnered his attention."Should I get the troops ready?"

Peter shook his head. It was still difficult for him to believe that it had not yet been a week since the raid. Since many of his good men were lost. No, a battle should be the absolute last resort. He sat numbly down into his chair, folding his fingers together as he thought. His mind was still dwindling on Edmund's proposal of using the woods. Perhaps there was a way he could use it to his advantage...but who would he send? There was no way he could leave the How, not with such an attack on the radar. No, he would have to use someone else...

"I have an idea, but Lucy, Susan?"

The two girls met their brother's eyes as he said their names. "Yes?"

"I need your assistance.

* * *

"That's it, go back to bed. I promise by the time morning arrives the Kings and Queens of Old will have this problem sorted out."

A collection of red eyed fawns and tomato faced dwarves went silently back into their respective rooms. Serena waved them a relieving hand and waited until each wooden door was shut and every last sob and grunt was muffled by the blankets of sleep.

She sighed. "You'd think everyone would be more prepared for something like this."

"They have probably not yet gotten over their losses from the raid," Louis replied, hands busy retying the ponytail that had fallen out during the chaos, "and this is horribly unexpected."

"Do you, do you really think we're going to have to fight? Now?" Serena whispered after a long silence.

Louis pursed his lips in thought. "Everything of this nature tends ends in a fight. Although, in this case a battle may be a more appropriate term. However," he paused and motioned for Serena to follow him away from the residential area, fearing he heard a frightened "oh" sound from within.

"However," he continued as they travelled down a long connective staircase that led to their self proclaimed Ledge and the bottom floor, "I believe that Peter will do everything in his power to delay it."

Serena nodded. A pallid complexion had taken over her face. She looked older and unnaturally weary. Louis put a hand on her shoulder blade that forced her to stop walking as they reached the opening to the Ledge.

"No one ever asked you to fight, my dear. You should know that it is not required of you."

"But it is. How can Lily ever think her species a strong one if she doesn't have someone to prove it to her?"

Louis pondered this for a moment, felt around himself for a moment, and said,

"I want to show you something."

Serena felt no comfort in dangling her legs over the Ledge, yet they hung there anyways. It kept her from crumpling in on herself.

Louis sat next to her, rummaging through his tattered messenger bag. Serena watched the drowsy moon kiss the blue of dawn until she noticed Louis clutching a familiar brown book in his hand.

"I'm not taking that potion again, Louis. I hope that's not what you had in mind."

The man smiled, and only did so. He unclasped the thick buckle that secured the wrinkled contents with an aged _thunk_. "Books are marvelous for many reasons. They contain knowledge, wisdom, inspiration, motivation, entertainment. But, I have found over my years, that they are also great hiding spots."

He opened to a bookmarked page labeled "Amorska lametha" and peeled off a tiny membrane of cloudy fabric from the spine. He placed the book onto the rock before proceeding to unravel the coiling material.

Serena watched with avid curiosity as Louis touched the fabric with nimble fingers. She figured it was of faerie origin, for it unfolded into a large blanket that could never have fit within his small potion manual undetected.

"What is it?" Serena asked finally, her fingers itching to touch the foreign material.

Louis chuckled. "It's called an oralwa sentuea. It's a good luck charm of sorts."

Once Louis had nodded in approval, Serena ran a hand over the cloudy, shimmery fabric. It felt like the roof of a clear pond and the edge of a feather mixed into one heart aching material. "Where did you get it?"

Louis dropped his gaze, no longer looking upon the girl with a bright pair of eyes. He sighed internally. "You're mother gave it to me. Said it would give me luck. And let me tell you my dear, it, it has."

Serena released the thin blanket and looked at Louis, who appeared to have been suddenly enveloped in a dreary sort of light. Serena straightened up a bit. "Did she make it?"

Louis remained silent for a moment, and then replied, "yes, yes she did."

"Do you, do you think she would have taught me?"

Serena felt almost ashamed. The fabric was so foreign to her, she had no idea what materials her mother had even used to create it. She probably wouldn't have even recognized their names. And it's name, oralwa sentuea, why she hardly believed that the ancient faerie words would be able to form on her tongue. What kind of faerie could she be, really, without that kind of basic knowledge? She felt a bubble of loss grow in her stomach, one she hadn't felt in what seemed like years. She was suddenly consumed by the overwhelming desire to bury herself in a parental embrace. And weep.

Whenever Serena hugged Louis she had to fight the instinctive urge to stay within his cinnamon scented arms. But in the light of the fading moon, and the dingy stars, she let herself give in. She fell into Louis chest- the cloth gently comforting her body - and emptied her eyes.

Louis reciprocated the gesture with hesitation, but warmth.

"I don't know who I'm supposed to be Louis," she said as her tears grew lighter, "I have no idea."

Louis rubbed a hand through her hair, his fingers getting gently caught in her split ends. "You don't have to be anyone. Life gives us these unnecessary categories in which we are expected to fill, but, if you really think on it, the best are those who do not fit at all. Think of our kings and queens. They were simple school children who became royalty."

Serena breathed in staccato, "but I'm not a human, I'm not a faerie. I-I'm not a fighter, not supposed to be one. But I can't just stand by and do nothing, Louis. I just can't!"

She pulled harder on Louis' tan vest and he was reminded of the oralwa sentuea on his lap. He tapped Serena and politely motioned her to move slightly so he could retrieve it.

Louis folded the euphoria encased fabric into a crude square and placed it in her free palm. "You're mother was a dear friend of mine, although sometimes I feel an inadequate choice of guardian for her children." He said the latter to himself, not wishing to upset the girl further. "But all that aside, she was an encyclopedia of wisdom. And she once told me," he paused to check the choke that threatened to degrade his voice, "she once told me, at a time when I was feeling a lot like you are now, that you are supposed to be nothing except who you are." He folded Serena's fingers over the soft fabric. "You are a very humanized faerie, but a faerie nonetheless. And that may be you're greatest endowment. I believe it's already put a number on the High King, that's for sure." He smiled as Serena's eyes hardened and her cheeks reddened ever so slightly. "And if you do choose to fight, whether that battle be near or far, I want you to know that you're doing so because you want to, not because you have to. And that a little good luck charm never hurts."

Serena clutched the fabric as Louis chuckled softly. She always knew that he was a friend of her parents, but it was a knowledge she had never before sought to pursue. "How did you meet my mother?"

Louis' body stiffened and he loosened his arms around Serena's shoulders. For a moment she thought it was a reaction to her question, but the gray eyed man's pertinent stare over her head stated otherwise. She turned her gaze 90 degrees and knew instantly why.

The meadow, whose grass was always so luminously green in the twinkle of dawn, was now blanketed in the ugly brown and black of Telmarine uniform. The quiet one two, one two step of their march now drowned her eardrums with fright. She rolled up the fabric, which shrunk to the perfect size for its intended usage, and tied it into her hair.

She turned to see Louis heading for the stairs, no doubt heading down to inform the Pevensies and Caspian.

He met her eyes before he left. They were almost blue in the growing light. She felt a strange sense of relief, like she had unclenched a fist that had been held for so long she'd forgotten it had ever been free. For the first time in her vivid memory, she felt the caress of fatherly love course through her veins. And even in the light of horrors to come, she couldn't help the smile that was growing on her face.

Perhaps Louis could be her father yet.

* * *

Lily was a heavy sleeper, a blessing and a curse in her personal opinion. But she was slowly coming out of her deep sleep when the quick patter of running feet sped past her door. She jolted awake, frightened by the runners apparent urgency, and bolted out into the hallway (although not before quickly checking her appearance in the mirror). The footsteps led to the royal's meeting room door. She listened intently and felt the blood rush from her face as Louis' breathy voice, and his words, registered in her mind.

"You're majesties," he blurted, horribly out of breath, "The Telmarines have arrived."

* * *

**A/N Happy Holidays everyone! Thanks to everyone who has put up with my late updates as of late (haha,oh). Anyways, as always reviews are always appreciated (give a girl some holiday love :)) And ****I hope everyone has a fantastic New Year!**


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